Arsenal travel to League Two side Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup fourth round tonight, and with a trip to Liverpool on Sunday, Mikel Arteta is expected to rotate heavily.

Several first-choice starters, including Declan Rice, are likely to be rested ahead of Anfield. For one player, though, a cup tie against lower-league opposition could be just what he needs.

Viktor Gyokeres has the perfect chance to end his Arsenal drought

Viktor Gyokeres has now gone 15 games without scoring for Arsenal, with his last goal coming against Fulham in May. That’s a terrible run for a striker who scored 21 goals in all competitions in his first season at the club, and who hit four in four for Sweden during the October international break.

Even more worrying is how few chances he’s getting. Gyokeres has taken just two shots all season, and he didn’t manage one against Everton on Saturday, his first Premier League start of the campaign. Chris Sutton described him as “pretty ineffective” against Everton, while Paul Merson also admitted he wasn’t impressed by his display, though he did point out that Gyokeres had a tough battle against James Tarkowski.

There have been encouraging signs, though. He has assists in each of his last two appearances, laying the ball off for Rice’s late equaliser in Munich and ‘setting up’ Ezri Konsa’s opener against Everton. Rice said after the Bayern game that Gyokeres had been making “such a good impact”.

What he needs now is a goal, and the cups have been kind to him before. Last season, he scored against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and against Southampton in the FA Cup. Fleetwood will likely sit deep and try to make it difficult, but against League Two opposition, Gyokeres should get chances. If he takes one, it could be the confidence boost that gets his season going ahead of the trip to Anfield.