Viktor Gyökeres scored twice as Arsenal dismantled Tottenham 4-1 in the north London derby. It may well have been his finest display since arriving in the summer.
Viktor Gyökeres’ confident finish to make it 4-1 to Arsenal in the north London derby applied the exclamation mark to what felt like his best performance in an Arsenal shirt.
In a week when the Gunners had shockingly dropped points against bottom side Wolves, a derby clash with rivals Tottenham – hoping for a ‘new-manager bounce’ – was being framed as another potential banana skin.
Instead, Mikel Arteta’s side responded in emphatic fashion, with their Swedish centre-forward at the heart of everything.
He struck twice at either end of the second-half as Arsenal ran away with the derby; the first a powerful, whipped finish from the edge of the box; the second a strong, charging run deep into Tottenham’s box finished with aplomb.
Gyökeres’ two goals took him to eight in all competitions since the turn of the year, more than any other Premier League player in that period.
Premier League Players Most Goals - All Comps 2026
But perhaps even more notable was that his strike to make it 4-1 came from his 39th touch of the game. He went onto finish with 41.
That was comfortably his highest total in an Arsenal shirt and underlined just how involved he was throughout the game. His goals were obviously the two most important actions in the contest, but his hold-up play and link-up work were critical. This was a complete centre-forward performance, admittedly against a threadbare Tottenham team.
Viktor Gyökeres touches for Arsenal
Unsurprisingly given how much of the ball he saw, he also set Arsenal career-highs for passes attempted (27), successful passes (18) and passes received (28). Those numbers were way, way up on his averages for the club in the Premier League to date.
Viktor Gyökeres stats vs Tottenham vs season average
For much of this season, Gyökeres has looked isolated, starved of service and unable to have the impact he’d have hoped. That was certainly not the case against Spurs on Sunday.
A look at the average positions of Arsenal’s players shows how many of them operated close to Gyökeres, with Eberechi Eze and Leandro Trossard particularly tight to him.
Arsenal passing network vs Spurs February 2026
Gyökeres’ relationship with Eze was particularly clear. Seven of his 18 completed passes (38.8%) were played to the England international, the most important of which came in the build-up to Arsenal’s third goal.
Eze reacted quickest to a loose ball in midfield and nudged it forward to Gyökeres. The Swede used his strength to hold off Radu Drăgușin before deftly rolling the ball around the corner into Eze’s path. Within seconds, Arsenal were through and Spurs were exposed.
Arsenal link up play for third goal v Spurs
Arsenal link up play for third goal v Spurs pt 2
Isolating Gyökeres’ passes to Eze shows a pattern of short combinations. The striker clearly benefited from having a runner working off him, and Eze acknowledged that fact after the match.
“You could see the work ethic, you could see how much he helps the team. Not just with his goals but with the effort he puts in. He puts players like me in good positions, which helps a lot.”
Viktor Gyökeres passes to Eze - North London Derby
Granted, it may have been against a severely weakened Tottenham backline, featuring back-up centre-back Dragusin, as well as fill-in defender João Palhinha, but what was very obvious was how much Gyökeres was able to physically dominate them.
As the map of the passes he received shows, Arsenal were happy to play a lot of direct, vertical passes into his body, allowing Gyökeres to use his strength to hold the ball up well and bring others into play.
Viktor Gyökeres passes received vs tottenham - feb 2026
As a focal point of Arsenal’s attack, he won won five of his 11 duels. That’s not an overwhelming figure, but his 45.5% duel success rate was a significant improvement on his average of 31.3% coming into the game.
Six of the passes he received came from David Raya. As Arsenal managed the latter stages, Gyökeres became a brilliant release valve with Raya frequently finding him with long, cross-field passes into the channels.
Arsenal were not only able to bypass Spurs’ press, but they also could progress play right up into Spurs’ final third to completely relieve any territorial pressure.
David Raya passes to Gyokeres vs Tottenham
Ultimately, goals will define how Gyökeres’ impact at Arsenal is perceived, particularly goals in big moments.
His strike early in the second half, after Arsenal had gone into the break level despite having clear superiority, came at the perfect time. The longer the game had stayed level, the more nerves would have played a factor. Instead, his superb touch and emphatic finish from the edge of the area restored control. From there, Arsenal never looked back.
The high-pressure fixtures just keep on coming for Arsenal, who welcome Chelsea this Sunday. Mikel Arteta, who said after the derby that he thought it was Gyökeres’ best game Arsenal, will hope his statement remains short-lived.
Premier League Stats Opta
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