One of the few clouds hanging over Arsenal this season has been the lack of goals from the big-money centre forward Viktor Gyokeres but he erased some doubts with a timely return to form by scoring twice in a 4-0 defeat of Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
Gyokeres, who Arsenal signed for £64m from Sporting, poached his side’s third and fourth goals in their Uefa Champions League win to end a nine-game streak without netting for club and country.
The Swede was all smiles as he was substituted late on and manager Mikel Arteta said the 27-year-old fully deserved the ovation he received from the Gunners fans.
“I think he deserved it because everything we were seeing in terms of what he was bringing to the team and how much he was helping the team in many areas, apart from scoring goals in the last few weeks,” Arteta said.
“There was no debate about that. It was about keeping that belief in himself, that emotional state that he can enjoy and play freely. I look at his teammates as well, in the picture and the video, they are all so happy for him.”
Gyokeres’ opening goal was a messy affair as his weak shot dribbled into the net via a deflection while his second came from yet another Arsenal set piece with Gabriel heading a corner into the path of the Sweden international.
“He makes us a much better team. I think we’ve become much more unpredictable. He’s so physical, the way he presses the ball, holds the ball, that’s phenomenal,” Arteta said.
“He’s scored two very different ones today, and hopefully he starts to get some momentum and a good run of goals.”
Gyokeres now has five for the season, including three in the Premier League, and was clearly relieved to be back on target.
“[It’s reward] for the team, but of course, me as well,” he said of the win that maintained Arsenal’s 100% start in the Champions League. “I do my best all the time, work hard and contribute with different stuff. It’ll come sooner or later.”
Arsenal stormed to a third successive Champions League victory.
What had been a compelling clash with little between the sides became a Gunners rout with goals by Gabriel, Gabriel Martinelli and Gyokeres’ brace leaving Diego Simeone’s side shell-shocked.
Shortly after Julian Alvarez hit the crossbar for the visitors, Gabriel broke the deadlock by heading in a Declan Rice free kick in the 57th minute.
Martinelli finished off a sweeping move seven minutes later and Gyokeres then prodded his first goal of the night via a deflection as Arsenal ran riot, the Swede ending a nine-game scoring drought for club and country.
Gyokeres then bundled in his second as Atletico were again unable to deal with a set piece.
Victory extended Arsenal’s unbeaten run to nine games and put them on nine points in the group phase, well on the way to qualifying for the knockout phase.
Atletico have three points and will have to dust themselves down after their six-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an abrupt end.
Also on Tuesday night, Erling Haaland extended his remarkable scoring streak to 12 straight matches as Manchester City recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory at Villarreal.
Bernardo Silva also got on the scoresheet in the first half in a dominant display by the visitors at La Ceramica.
Pep Guardiola’s City took the lead in the 17th minute, when Rico Lewis, marauding down the right, delivered a precise pass into the box for Haaland to fire home a first-time effort from the edge of the six-yard box.
City continued to press and doubled their lead in the 40th, again thanks to an assist by Lewis from the right, crossing to captain Silva who headed in unmarked from close range.
City’s dominance ensured a straightforward victory as they continue their strong form in this season’s Champions League, with two wins and a draw, while Villarreal have one point from their three matches in the competition so far.
Harvey Barnes came off the bench to score twice and Anthony Gordon netted for the third consecutive Champions League game as Newcastle beat Benfica 3-0 at St James’ Park to earn the hosts back-to-back wins in the competition.
In a rip-roaring first half with chances at both ends, Gordon put Newcastle ahead in the 32nd minute.
Newcastle took charge after the break but had to wait until the 70th minute to double their lead when keeper Nick Pope provided the assist for Barnes to score.
Barnes wrapped up the win seven minutes from time, finishing off Gordon’s threaded pass with a coolly-taken shot through the legs of the keeper as Benfica suffered their third defeat in three Champions League games this season.
Holders Paris St Germain scored three times in seven minutes at the end of a rollercoaster first half on the way to crushing hosts Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday, after both teams played with 10 men for almost an hour.
A Fermin Lopez hat-trick and two goals from Marcus Rashford powered Barcelona to a commanding 6-1 victory over Olympiacos.
Reuters