After Alan Shearer criticised the way in which Arsenal have been using Viktor Gyokeres, the big-money summer signing went and proved the Newcastle United legend wrong.
Viktor Gyokeres bagged an eye-catching Champions League brace not long after TV pundit Alan Shearer said Arsenal haven’t been getting him in the game enough.
The goals have not exactly been flowing for the Swede ever since his £64million move from Sporting Lisbon. He arrived into the contest having failed to score in any of the Gunners first two matches in the Champions League.
When pitted up against Diego Simeone’s famously stubborn defence in the first half, Gyokeres struggled, only touching the ball nine times – with none of those touches being inside the Atletico box. It was a different story after the break as he bundled in a goal to give the Gunners a 3-0 lead and then found the bottom corner with a precise strike, as Arsenal ran out 4-0 winners.
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His goals made Shearer’s half-time comments look unfortunately timed, too. Before the game, Shearer, who was working on Amazon Prime’s coverage of the Champions League, said Arteta and his players have not been doing enough to involve him.
The BBC’s Match of the Day pundit said: “I’d like to seem them involving Gyokeres more. He only had nine touches in the first half and none in the box.
“That is pretty alarming for any centre forward at any level. They need to get him into the game. They need to find him that little bit earlier.
“No problem with his work-rate, he’s closing down and he’s doing his defensive duties. But they haven’t paid that money for him to work hard and to do defensive duties. They’ve paid that money for him to score goals – and they need to feed him more.”
Before the game, Shearer hailed Gyokeres’ work-rate and movement off the ball. His comments also proved to be perfect foreshadowing as the ex-England international captain also said he thought the goals would soon come for Gyokeres.
He said: “There’s no doubt his numbers have to improve, but what he does to for this Arsenal team is give them the ability to go the other way and run in behind.
“That then gives a bit more space for those midfielders in there, rather than [Mikel] Merino coming in short. He hasn’t scored the goals he would have liked.
“But we have to be patient with him – because the goals will come. They have to come because of the money they’ve spent on him.”
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Arsenal continue their UEFA Champions League campaign as they host Atletico Madrid on October 21. Fans can watch the game for free by signing up for an Amazon Prime 30-day trial.
