ARSENAL’s beleaguered striker Viktor Gyokeres shrugged off his travails to underline his cool temperament and slot home his penalty to restore the north Londoners position at the top of the Premier League - ensuring the Gunners are top of the tree at Christmas.
A raucus Saturday evening at Everton’s astonishingly excellent new ground saw Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side head into a game not top of the Premier League table for the first time since October 4.
The impressive Hill Dickinson Stadium played host to the Gunners who were second at kick-off, after Manchester City swatted away the feeble attempts of West Ham earlier in the day to lead by a single point, a slender but psychologically important gap.
However, Arsenal replied with confidence showcased by Gyokeres’s emphatic strike from the spot.
It was the Swede’s 19th successive penalty finish wearing the cannon on his chest, as well as Sporting Lisbon colours, leaving Arteta to reflect on being top of the Premier League at Christmas, saying: “What gives me belief and confidence is the level of performance and the consistency of that.
“That’s very, very difficult to do in this league and that means that the team is constantly there. Enjoy the process of winning and you’re going to have to go to difficult places, you’re going to have difficult moments, we have dealt with a lot of things already and we are there.”
After posting a first league win on the road since November 1, Arteta added: “What we’re going to do is work for the next game, try to improve and make sure that everybody is with that spirit and energy and enjoying that.”
With the home support unveiling an impressive pre-match Tifo display that read: “On The Banks of the Royal Blue Mersey,” as the throaty roads of more than 50,000 fans filled the cold Merseyside night air, Arteta’s team needed to show character and resilience to earn the right to head back to the top of the division for Christmas.
It was the clinical finish of a player who has had his share of struggles this term that helped restore Arteta’s side’s lead at the top, following a hard-fought but worthy triumph.
The spot-kick was awarded after Jake O’Brien, arms outstretched above his head, inexplicably handled the ball after Jurrien Timber crossed the ball into a crowded box.
There was initial confusion, before VAR sent referee Sam Barrott to the monitor to take a look at 6ft 5ins O’Brien’s unnecessary impetuosity when appearing to slap the ball with both hands, leading to the correct outcome of the award of a penalty.
Gyokeres, who has been criticised by many outside the club, as well as on social media, for only netting six goals up to the last weekend before Christmas — albeit as much to do with halting injuries than an inherent lack of form — took a confident run-up to blast the past the Toffees’ vastly experienced keeper Jordan Pickford. Even if the bustling Swede’s powerful effort was perhaps a tad too near the England international’s dive for comfort, the ball flew past Pickford to make it, in the words of the old song from Gunners faithful: “One Nil To The Arsenal.”
While it was telling Everton manager David Moyes — Arteta’s boss during his time at Goodison Park — had no complaints about the penalty, asking plaintively: “Why did \[O’Brien\] do it?” Arteta took time to hail Gyokeres, and his leadership team including captain Martin Odegaard, and Bukayo Saka. Arteta praising his Norwegian skipper for empathetically ceding penalty taking duties to Gyokeres, in a bid to boost his colleague’s confidence, and goals total.
The selfless act worked, with Gyokeres smashing the ball into the net, with the Gunners’ celebrations underlining the importance of the goal, including the delighted travelling support leaping wildly at the other end of the fabulous new stadium.
Arteta hailed the influential trio after the matches saying: “Very happy for him \[Gyokeres\].
“They took ownership on the pitch between Martin, Bukayo and him to decide who was the taker, and they made a great decision because Viktor put the ball in the back of the net.”
Arteta, who graced the blue of Everton for six years prior to his move to Arsenal, was also impressed by the Toffees’ evocative new home on the historic Bramley-Moore Dock.
The site’s beguiling nature — amplified through the restoration of the fine stone walls on the historic Waterloo Road dating back to the Napoleonic era — prompted Arteta to say graciously of the rejuvenated area on the banks of the proud River Mersey: “I want to congratulate everybody at Everton. Everybody has contributed to building this amazing stadium because it was incredible to witness.
“Not only the way they’ve done it, the atmosphere that they’ve created. Someone who is an ex-player and someone that supports this club, congratulations to all of them.”
The visitors should perhaps have doubled their lead following interval, but Pickford saved from Saka’s low drive. Yet, if anything it was the home side that were bolstered afterwards.
Roared on by the vociferous majority home support in a crowd of 52,513, the impish Jack Grealish probed Arsenal’s right flank as Everton put the Gunners under pressure. Gyokeres was then booked for delaying the restart of a free-kick, prior to the Gunners surviving a VAR penalty check, after William Saliba appeared to kick Thierno Barry’s foot.
Moments later Leo Trossard hit the far post with Pickford beaten, before Arteta opted to replace Gyokeres with Jesus on 65 minutes, the former Sporting Lisbon striker’s work done for the day.
As the clock ticked down Martin Zubimendi also struck the post, while at the other end saw Arsenal riding out the Toffees late tempest to post a hugely important victory on the banks of the Mersey.
Speaking afterwards Arteta said: “Very happy with the result, with big parts of the performance against a team that’s very difficult to beat, really well organised, they can really stretch you in the way they play. The game can become chaotic, we didn’t allow that to happen except for one sequence of two corners and one throw-in after we kicked the ball out of play.
“In the second half, we had three massive chances to score a second goal or the third one, we didn’t do it. You can suffer at the end, we didn’t because we haven’t conceded anything but overall, the margins maybe could have been bigger.”
With Arsenal edging past chasers City to officially lead by two points when Christmas Day arrives — the third time they have done so in the last four years — the race for the 2026 title has officially started.
Can Arsenal finally become champions for the first time in 22 seasons, or will Pep Guardiola’s City lift their seventh bauble in a decade?
The next few months promises to be gripping viewing.