Viktor Gyokeres produced his best ever performance for Arsenal against Tottenham and Jamie Carragher had some big words for both him and Mikel Arteta.
Gyokeres netted twice against Spurs but it was his overall play that caught the eye as well.
The big striker has, at times, struggled this season but in the last few weeks in particular, he has looked like the striker we all saw at Sporting Lisbon.
AGREE or DISAGREE: That was Viktor Gyokeres’ best performance in an Arsenal shirt so far…
With 15 goals this season and seemingly growing in confidence by the week, Gyokeres is on course to fire Arsenal to the title.
And for Jamie Carragher, there is praise to be had for both Mikel Arteta, and Gyokeres himself.
Jamie Carragher praises Mikel Arteta for Viktor Gyokeres’ form
Nobody but Gyokeres himself can do the business on the pitch and put the ball in the net.
He was signed to do that for Arsenal and luckily, the goals have started to flow a bit more now.
However, while it is down to the former Coventry man to implement things, Jamie Carragher believes it is Mikel Arteta who deserves credit.
“He could be [vital] and what I would say is here, is credit the manager,” Carragher commented on Sky Sports.
“I felt they had to come away from Gyokeres and I thought at some stage it might cost them. But the manager has stuck by him week after week and the strength he shows again to knock off Archie Gray, he’s very Shearer-like. Left arm out, knocking defenders out the way.
“We were looking at the strikers Arsenal had and I felt he was quite far down the pecking order and now, fair play to the manager.”
Being compared to Alan Shearer is quite the compliment for Viktor Gyokeres
By no means are we suggesting that Gyokeres is anywhere near the player Alan Shearer was but in a way, it’s nice praise to get.
It’s a nod to the way he is actually playing the game and that strength, power and aggression is what made Shearer such a formidable opponent.
Viktor Gyokeres has scored 134 goals since Arsenal last lost to Tottenham, will he end his Arsenal career with that many?
Marksman!
Yes, Shearer scored 100s of goals and at this moment in time, was a few levels above Gyokeres.
But the signs are there for Arsenal’s own big man and with more to come and more development under Arteta, it does look like we will see further improvements down the road.
If Gyokeres can have half the career Shearer had, he’ll have done quite alright.
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