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Viktor Gyokeres scored and assisted against Chelsea and fulfilled the public instruction Mikel Arteta had hoped would be heard by the Arsenal striker
Insistence has brought about reward for Viktor Gyokeres, and subsequently Arsenal as the Swede provided Mikel Arteta with a goal and an assist against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The victory for the Gunners puts them in a commanding position for the second leg at the Emirates Stadium in a few weeks’ time.
Gyokeres needed a big performance and there were encouraging signs in the opening stages of the game. A shot at goal blocked, some good runs and duels being fought brought some hope that big things were coming, but few might’ve predicted the impact he would have.
When asked at the end of December when the goal drought was seven games long, Arteta gave the striker one instruction: to keep insisting. Effectively, to keep doing more of the good he was doing, with his runs and movement.
“Yeah, because we want him to score," he said ahead of the win over Aston Villa. “Obviously, he had a few chances today, a few great positions, the ball didn't arrive, so... Keep insisting, it's the only way.”
Therefore in the wake of the Chelsea win, football.london put it to the Arsenal manager and asked how pleased he was that the insistence paid off.
“Yes, for a lot of the things that he's done, it's exactly the same,” he said. “I think he had a really good performance.
“Overall, I think what he brings to the team. It's a lot, sometimes I understand that people cannot appreciate it, we certainly do that, and on top of that, he got rewarded with a goal.”
An interesting end to the quote, and pointing out that perhaps there is simply more to the Swede’s game that is going on that we don’t necessarily see. With a two-goal lead, Gyokeres left the field and was replaced by Gabriel Jesus, while Declan Rice was replaced by Kai Havertz.
It made the line-up much more attack-minded, with Mikel Merino moving to left eight. Is it therefore perhaps unsurprising that Chelsea became more of a threat without the Swede occupying the defenders as often?
Perhaps and this could provide some insight into what it is Arteta is describing. Gyokeres’ goal was one of three, the other two scored by Ben White and Martin Zubimendi.
In fact, the Gunners managed to score more goals in this one semi-final leg, compared to their last eight legs combined across all competitions. One goal against Villarreal and PSG, however, zero against Liverpool and Newcastle United.
It was good, therefore, to put that record to bed, while for White it was a potential indication that the England international can again hold his own in this 2026 iteration of Arteta’s team.
“I think I've said it many times about how I feel about Ben and not what he's done in the last few weeks, but what he's done for us in the last few years,” he said. “He's shown that in various contexts that he's a player that's going to give absolutely everything for the team, that he's always there.
“He's someone you can count on in any circumstances, and I think tonight he's done what he has to do.”
Arsenal have won the first two of four successive away games in the space of ten days. They travel to Nottingham Forest this weekend and then face Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.
It was telling just how strong Arteta went with the team, of the available players, besides the goalkeeper, that was the best potential team he could have chosen. There is a weight on this side, a burden, of having not won a major trophy since 2020.
Six years is a long time. However, this win in West London helped the Gunners take a big step toward ending the near-six-year drought.
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