3 hours ago
3
Alan Shearer has heaped praise on Viktor Gyokeres' role during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Olympiacos on Wednesday night.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka sealed a comfortable win in the Champions League for Mikel Arteta's side, who continued their momentum from Sunday's dramatic 2-1 win at Newcastle United. Arsenal's victory maintained their 100 per cent record in Europe's elite competition to put them in a strong position for the last 16.
Gyokeres failed to find the back of the net against Olympiacos but still put on a positive performance and played a key role in Martinelli's goal. There will now be hope in north London that the Gunners' big-money summer signing from Sporting can score more regularly to help end Arsenal's five-year trophy drought.
And former Newcastle United No.9 Shearer has praised Gyokeres for his role in Wednesday's win - sharing his belief that the Swede is looking a threat.
"I thought Gyokeres did well with his running in behind – didn’t get his goal, but just his running in behind," Shearer told The Rest Is Football podcast.
"He set up the first one for Martinelli when he went behind, and he was a bit unlucky when he hit the post and it came out for a tap-in, but the way he smashed the centre-half off with his body and great strength.
"I thought he looked a threat. Arsenal are looking really good."
Arteta has backed Viktor Gyokeres to prove his worth despite five games without a goal.
"What I sense is that he's doing better and better things every game," the Arsenal boss said. "He was denied a few times with blocks, and then he hit the post, but I think overall his performance was exceptional.
"Again, his work was really good, and yeah, we want him to be scoring goals, but if he doesn't do that, at least to do everything as he's doing for the team, because he's helping the team a lot."
The Gunners welcome struggling West Ham United to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, where Arsenal fans will be hoping the floodgates might burst open for Gyokeres.
Arteta added: "I don't know, but hopefully, yes, and hopefully it will be on Saturday."
Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!
By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.
To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!
If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.
English (US) ·