Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres was confident that he has plenty more to deliver despite enjoying the best performance of his nascent career in north London.
The summer recruit from Sporting CP scored his third goal of the season in Saturday’s 3–0 stroll against Nottingham Forest, finding himself perfectly placed to stab in Eberechi Eze’s sumptuous first-time cross from point-blank range. Putting his goal to one side, the red shirt seemed to hang a little lighter on Gyökeres.
The burly Swede has had his physical conditioning questioned but deftly skipped around the Emirates, perennially offering himself as a wall to bounce passes off. At one point in the second half, Gyökeres started a sequence of play which veered from one side of the pitch to the other, with Arsenal’s new striker following the ball in a curved parabola which ended with him clattering an effort off the frame of Matz Sels’s goal.
When asked if there was more to come, Gyökeres confidently replied: “Yeah, for sure. You always want minutes, and you get into it easier when you play more. You want to perform and show that you deserve to be on the pitch. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“Of course it’s a big club and there’s going to be pressure,” he added. “But you just try to make the best when you’re out on the pitch and not think too much about it.”
The output delivered by the club’s new No. 14 can be viewed in one of two ways. Three goals from six shots offers the clinical edge that Arsenal have so often lacked, but surely there must be concerns as to why Gyökeres has had fewer sights of goal than left back Riccardo Calafiori (one goal from seven shots).
Gyökeres was far more involved against Forest and was keen to credit his new teammates.
“It’s been very easy to fit into the team,” the 27-year-old gushed. “Of course, it takes some time to adapt to the style of play, but it’s been a good start. Playing with people like this is amazing—they always want to go forward and be a threat. You just have to be in the right positions and you’ll get chances.”
After a summer spent partially on strike to force through a move to the Emirates, Gyökeres has been thrust straight into Arsenal’s starting XI. “It’s been a lot of [games] in a short period,” he warned. “But we have to handle that, make sure we’re prepared and do our best.”
The frequency of fixtures will only increase from here. Arsenal travel to Bilbao for their Champions League opener against Athletic Club on Tuesday before hosting Manchester City next Sunday.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘For Sure’—Viktor Gyokeres Fires Confident Prediction As Arsenal Begin to Click.