Gyokeres ends goal drought with brace as Arsenal thrash Atletico 4–0

There is never a bad time for a striker to score, but Viktor Gyokeres’ relief was evident as he ended his barren run with two goals in Arsenal’s 4–0 victory over Atletico Madrid.

Manager Mikel Arteta believes the Swedish striker’s brace could mark the start of a prolific spell.

After netting three goals in his first four matches, the £64 million signing endured a frustrating stretch of seven games without scoring, reports the BBC. Despite that, his teammates continued to praise his overall contribution, with Arteta revealing he gave Gyokeres a hug after Arsenal’s 2–0 win over West Ham on Saturday to acknowledge his effort.

The 27-year-old has featured heavily this season due to Kai Havertz’s knee injury, playing 90 minutes in seven of Arsenal’s opening 12 fixtures.

His brace against Atletico brought his tally to five goals in 12 matches, which Arteta described as just reward for the striker’s persistence.

“He deserved it because everything that 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, there was no debate about that,” said Arteta.

Gyokeres’ teammates pushed him forward to soak in the crowd’s applause and perform his trademark celebration — a show of unity that Arteta said reflected the squad’s appreciation of his influence.

“All of us [appreciate Gyokeres] because he makes us a much better team. I think we’ve become much more unpredictable,” he added.

Gyokeres, who scored an impressive 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting Lisbon before joining Arsenal, said he was pleased to be back among the goals.

“I am very pleased, of course. Both [my] goals were great. I try to do my best all the time and work hard, contribute with different stuff, and the goals would come sooner or later,” Gyokeres told UEFA.

“We want to do well, we want to win football matches, but there’s a long journey to go. We will take it game by game, even if that sounds boring.”

The win over Atletico continued Arsenal’s flawless Champions League campaign — three group-stage wins without conceding a goal.

The Gunners have now won 10 of their 12 matches across all competitions, top the Premier League by three points, and have conceded only three goals — the fewest at this stage of the season in the club’s 138-year history.

Arsenal next face Crystal Palace on Sunday.

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