By common assent, Viktor Gyokeres played his best game in an Arsenal shirt on Sunday. With the North London Derby level at half-time, the Swedish striker went full battering ram, scoring twice in the second half to help the Gunners thrash Tottenham 4-1.
His rocket of a right foot, powerful running and complimentary hold-up play were all on show in the second half against Spurs. Mikel Arteta hailed his “incredible” summer signing, while Gary Neville called him a “nuisance” in a positive sense.
Gyokeres’ brace against Spurs means he now has five goals in his last five Premier League games, which is a timely patch of form, given that costly draws against Brentford and Wolves had narrowed the gap at the top with Manchester City. But is there more to come from Gyokeres? Having reached 15 goals in 36 games in all competitions, can he fire Arsenal to their first Premier League title in 22 years?
Or is his performance against Spurs simply further proof that he can only do it against the weaker sides, given he’s just added Spurs to his league goals against Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, Everton and Sunderland?
Mirror Football asked our writers to assess the Arsenal striker and consider what might be around the corner as Arteta’s side continue their quest across all four competitions.
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READ MORE: Gary Neville makes ‘wild prediction’ as he picks between Arsenal and Man CityREAD MORE: Igor Tudor sets relegation alarm bells ringing with new Tottenham confessionJohn Cross
Viktor Gyokeres was unrecognisable from one half to the next in the North London Derby. So anyone that thinks we should be making a judgement on Gyokeres based on that game does not know what they are talking about.
In the first half, he went close with one shot but it was the Gyokeres that we have become used to. He could not hold the ball up, looked cumbersome and did not link the play let alone look like scoring.
In the second half, Gyokeres scored a screamer with that hammer of a shot, made a crucial flick in the build up to Eberechi Eze’s second goal and got a late second goal for himself.
That is what Arsenal should have been buying. Have we seen it enough? Absolutely not. If you are an elite club signing a striker for £64m with an incredible team behind him then you should be expecting more.
His recent stats and also being voted Arsenal Player of the Month should encourage him. And I love the fact that so many Arsenal fans have stuck with him. But he has so much more to do and to prove. Anyone saying differently should be reminded: Just watch the game!
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Viktor Gyokeres’ mask celebration was out on Sunday(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Jeremy Cross
Victor Gyokores is more than capable of producing the goods against the best teams. He once took Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side to the cleaners in the Champions League.
He has taken time to adapt to life in the Premier League, but is starting to show the kind of form which made him so successful at Sporting Lisbon. But with big price tags comes big pressure, and Gyokores has to keep scoring on a more consistent basis if he wants to be bracketed with the great forwards.
He can have such an influential part to play in Arsenal’s title ambitions – not to mention prove all the doubters wrong.
Neil McLeman
Arsenal splashed out on Viktor Gyokeres as the last piece in a title-winning team. The Gunners should still lift their first Premier League since 2004 – a draw with Manchester City on April 18 could be enough – but not because of the Swedish striker.
He has shown in recent weeks that he can score – against teams of the standard of the Portuguese league – but not so far against the top teams. Will Mikel Arteta start him at the Etihad? Not if he has a fully fit squad.
Gyokeres is not a terrible player – but he is not that great either. He will be part of the squad of a title-winning team but not the expected game changer.
Mikel Arteta is delighted with Viktor Gyokeres right now(Image: Getty Images)
HAVE YOUR SAY! What have you made of Viktor Gyokeres this season? Comment below.
Ben Husband
A social media post often resurfaces whenever West Ham lose a game. It reads: “Fans always think their ‘system’ has finally clicked when in reality they’re just playing West Ham.” It could just as easily be about Tottenham in recent times and it could just as easily be about a team’s struggling players.
Eberechi Eze hadn’t registered a shot on target between his hat-trick and brace against Spurs, while Gyokeres hadn’t produced in a big game. This was a much improved display from the Swedish striker, but the fact remains he continues to be feast or famine, with the latter often appearing in games against better sides.
Arsenal face Chelsea next weekend, if he can replicate this display then the narrative will quickly change. Until then, I remain slightly sceptical.
It’s not all been plain sailing for Viktor Gyokeres(Image: Jacques Feeney/Offside)
Daniel Orme
Viktor Gyokeres is clearly a talented goalscorer. He’s proven that in his prior spells with Coventry City and Sporting Lisbon. And while he’s not exactly set the world on fire this season, 15 goals in 36 appearances is still a respectable return so far. Gyokeres is not in the Erling Haaland or Harry Kane bracket but it would be unfair to suggest that he should even be.
Those two are simply freaks of nature when it comes to the art of goalscoring. Gyokeres has stuff to work on, sure, as do Kane and Haaland. How many times have we heard that he is not involved enough only for him to score a hat-trick? Gyokeres’ hold-up play still leaves a lot to be desired but there are signs that he’s getting there.
Arsenal knew what they were getting in Gyokeres – they were signing a striker who can clearly score but is still not quite the finished article. And that’s exactly what they’ve got. But if he can get to the end of the season with 20 goals to his name, I would say that is a very decent debut season at the Emirates.
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