Viktor Gyokeres is facing criticism(Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Rio Ferdinand has dismissed criticism of Viktor Gyokeres being a 'flat-track bully' after Gary Lineker claimed that the Arsenal strike must start scoring in 'big games'. Gyokeres, 27, netted his fourth Premier League goal of the season on Saturday to help the Gunners beat Burnley 2-0.

In regards to the Premier League table, Burnley are in the bottom five. The same goes for the two other teams that Gyokeres has scored against domestically, Leeds United and Nottingham Forest.

When the Swede came up against Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United, he failed to score. The contrast has sparked accusations that Gyokeres is a 'flat-track bully', a piece of criticism that was levelled at him during his Sporting Lisbon days, in which he scored 97 goals in 102 games.

"I don't want to call him a flat-track bully, that's a bit unfair," Lineker explained, speaking on The Rest Is Football. "The criticism that people perhaps would say is that what he did in Portugal, he didn't really score many goals against the top teams, and so far...