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Viktor Gyokeres scored twice as Arsenal beat Sunderland 3-0 to move nine points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League
The thing about opinions is they’re fleeting. What you feel in one moment will change in another when you’re presented with different information or evidence.
Viktor Gyokeres won the Arsenal player of the month for the Gunners for January and his reward was to be benched against Sunderland. Perhaps harsh, but with a trip to Brentford on Thursday, it perhaps shows which game Mikel Arteta saw as the tougher test.
Gyokeres started against Chelsea in midweek as Arsenal reached their first major cup final at Wembley since 2020, when it was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring in the FA Cup final to help Mikel Arteta lift his first title as Arsenal manager. Gyokeres is certainly the first out-and-out number nine that the club has signed since the Gabon international left north London.
Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz have come in and featured as nines of a very different style, while the Swede is simply about scoring goals. He struggles in the opening months of the season - but he's beginning to show his potential.
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Fast forward to the present, and the 27-year-old has eight goal contributions in his last eight matches. This is the type of form which made Arsenal commit big money to bring the former Sporting star to north London in a deal worth up to £64million.
What came before was, to put it simply, doubt. I had it, and to an extent, it remains in my mind as I hope and pray that what we are seeing over the past few weeks is not a flash in the pan and is instead here to stay.
So often, and it feels like especially within the Arsenal sphere, there is a desire to pick sides, to choose teams.
Whether you were an Arsene Knows Best or Wenger Out Brigade, or more recently Arteta In or Arteta Out. Side note: you’ve got to feel for the latter group right now.
The ‘footballification’ of opinions where they’re worn as almost team shirts that you must proudly stand by a view as if you were a fan in the stands cheering on what is just a point of view.
No, the reality is that we have minds so that we can change them. And from my point of view, despite my criticism and scrutiny of Viktor Gyokeres, it has always come from a place where I hoped, prayed, and yearned that he would eventually prove me wrong.
It wasn’t just about Gyokeres; it was about the team, and certainly Arteta appeared to allude to that in his post-match press conference, where he said the contexts of late had suited the Swede much more. Equally, therefore, it is about Arsenal finding the best environment for him to succeed.
Do I still have my criticisms of his first touch? Of his movement? Of his understanding of certain aspects of the game? Yes, but they, too, are open to changing.
What I have never doubted, however, is his capacity to beat any goalkeeper on the planet with his finishing ability, and that is what we have seen from him. A couple of poor misses aside, his finishing has been great, and the mistakes that have existed I can put down to the fluctuations in form we’ve seen.
If Arsenal get the ball into the positions we’re seeing from him, then anyone should be backing him to score. Inside the box, Gyokeres is lethal, probably the most ruthless in the Premier League at present, which is quite a compliment.
In terms of Arsenal and the title race, not only have they moved nine points clear of their rivals, but if their summer star striker is only now starting to hit form, my word, that is quite the scary scenario for Manchester City.
Arsenal have scored seven goals in their last two league games, and now Gyokeres is scoring in successive matches and on a regular basis, while Erling Haaland continues to struggle himself for regular form. While it is important to keep our feet on the ground, with just 13 games to go, it’s hard not to start looking to the months ahead with both anticipation and excitement.
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