Mikel Arteta hailed "phenomenal" Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres after seeing the Swede end his goal drought during Tuesday night's 4-0 Champions League rout of Atletico Madrid. After weeks of waiting, Gyokeres roared back to form, striking twice in 14 second-half minutes as Arsenal dismantled Diego Simeone’s side, who are usually known to keep things tight at the back.
Gyokeres shines in Champions League masterclass
The Gunners ran riot after the interval, with Gabriel Magalhaes heading the opener just before the hour mark. Moments later, Gabriel Martinelli doubled the lead with a blistering finish before Gyokeres stepped up to silence his critics with a ruthless brace. The former Sporting CP star had previously gone nine matches for club and country without scoring, but looked back to his best on Europe's biggest stage. Atletico were left shell-shocked as their famed resilience was torn apart by a clinical Arsenal side that looked every inch a European powerhouse, ready to challenge for the title.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportArteta lavished praise on his forward
For weeks, the conversation around Arsenal’s new No.9 had been about everything but goals. His pressing, his link-up play, his work rate, everything was praised. However, the question lingered, when would he deliver in front of goal? On Tuesday night, Gyokeres answered emphatically. Arteta had defended him on several occasions in front of the press, and after a stunning performance from the striker, the manager said: "I think we've become much more unpredictable. He's so physical, open, his face is for everybody. The way he presses the ball, holds the ball, that's phenomenal. And then there's the icing on the cake and the biggest thing that we're going to debate about him is goals. He's scored two very different ones today, and hopefully he starts to get some momentum and a good run of goals."
After the final whistle, Gyokeres was beaming as he paid homage to Arsenal legend Henry, the man whose famous No.14 shirt he now wears. Speaking to CBS, with Henry himself working as an analyst, Gyokeres said: "It feels great, to be honest. There's a lot of goals in this shirt. It feels amazing. To be honest, there weren't many shirt numbers available but when 14 was available, it was a big honour. We want to win trophies, that's our desire and that's the most important thing and of course I want to contribute and score goals.
"To score four and keep a clean sheet again is very good. We always keep going. We do the things right when we defend and when we get the chances we are extremely strong in taking those. Both my goals were great. I try to do my best all the time and work hard, contribute with different stuff and the goals would have come sooner or later."
Gyokeres admitted that the brace is a huge morale booster, and he is gunning for more after putting in a clinical performance against Atletico.
"I’m more hungry now," he warned. "You always want to contribute with work rate and other stuff, but when you score goals as well, it’s a bit special. So that’s something I always want to do. The group we have and the spirit is something different and something very special. When you win games and you do these performances, it builds confidence in the team. The belief has to always be there, but of course this helps to boost it. We just want to keep going like this."
Shearer’s half-time comments backfire spectacularly
Ironically, Gyokeres’ breakout performance came almost instantly after Alan Shearer had questioned Arsenal’s use of him. Working on Amazon's Champions League television broadcast at half-time, the Premier League’s all-time top scorer remarked: "I'd like to see them involving Gyokeres more. He only had nine touches in the first half and none in the box. That is pretty alarming for any centre forward at any level. They need to get him into the game. They need to find him that little bit earlier. No problem with his work-rate, he's closing down and he's doing his defensive duties. But they haven't paid that money for him to work hard and to do defensive duties. They've paid that money for him to score goals – and they need to feed him more. That then gives a bit more space for those midfielders in there, rather than [Mikel] Merino coming in short. He hasn't scored the goals he would have liked."
The former Newcastle striker then said after the game: "He wasn’t a goal threat in the first half but the fans appreciated his hark work and defensive duties. He’s going to get judged on goals so for him to get two in the second half will do his confidence the world of good."
Getty Images SportArsenal’s relentless form continues
The victory meant Arsenal extended their perfect start in the Champions League; three wins from three with not a single goal conceded. It also continued a blistering overall run as they now have ten wins from twelve matches across all competitions. They are sitting top of the Premier League on 19 points, three ahead of second-placed Man City. Perhaps even more impressively, Arsenal have conceded just three goals in all competitions. This is their best defensive record at this stage of a season in their 138-year history. For Arteta, that’s a foundation worth celebrating as he seems more determined than ever to bring the Premier League trophy back to north London after more than two decades.