“The next four fixtures are all against teams that are in similar areas so we will learn more from that, You don’t really judge from the Arsenal game”- Gary Lineker gives verdict on Leicester City’s poor start to Premier League season amidst early relegation fears as he reveals his family prefers championship success to struggle in Premier League

Gary Lineker is reserving judgement of Leicester City’s relegation chances until after their upcoming run of fixtures, rather than jump to conclusions straight after defeat to Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal.

The Foxes were almost written off before heading to the capital to take on Arsenal, though as the clock struck the 90 minute mark Steve Cooper found his men on level terms with Mikel Arteta’s. He and his men almost pulled off a daring draw, though fell to two stoppage time goals.

It is a result that leaves them teetering on the edge of the drop zone, kept above only by the number of goals they have scored, albeit after only six matches of the new campaign. And keeping that in mind – as well as a kinder run of fixtures against Bournemouth, Southampton, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town – Lineker is not getting drawn into this particular discussion just yet.

On The Rest is Football podcast, he said: “You don’t really judge Leicester on the game at Arsenal, the next four fixtures are all against teams that are in similar areas so we will learn a little bit more from that.

“But none of the newly-promoted teams are getting whacked, unlike last season, so I look at Leicester and think they’ve got spirit, they’ve got togetherness, they’ve got talent, some good players in there. It’s going to be tough.”

He then exposed an earlier conversation with his family, who apparently prefer winning regularly in the second tier rather than go without wins in the Premier League.

“I was talking to my boys today – they’re all Leicester fans apart from one – and they were saying it was so much more fun in the Championship! You start the season thinking our target is to survive and it is actually not as fun as in the Championship when you win a lot of football matches. Success rather than avoiding failure.”

“I still don’t want them to [get relegated],” the Match of the Day presenter added, “but it’s going to be hard.”