Gyökeres’ Gifts Of Bundling And Poaching Suggest Arsenal Have Found The Real Thing | Barney Ronay

At times during that difficult commencement to his first play astatine Arsenal Viktor Gyökeres looked much apt to autumn complete than people a Premier League goal. But why compromise? Why take 1 complete nan other? Against Sunderland Gyökeres recovered a 3rd way. He fell complete while scoring. Maybe you tin person it all.

It made for a profoundly wholesome moment. Gyökeres couldn’t thief smiling ruefully down his peekaboo celebration, moreover arsenic he was mobbed fondly by his teammates. The extremity was besides his first touch 7 minutes aft coming on, a extremity to termination a crippled Arsenal had eased done successful debased gear, and which ever felt for illustration a matter of housekeeping, a mobility of precisely really and really many, from nan infinitesimal they took nan lead conscionable earlier half-time.

By nan extremity this had turned into an fantabulous day for Gyökeres, not conscionable because he scored doubly successful a 3-0 triumph and had his champion Arsenal crippled truthful far, but because it was besides a very Viktor Gyökeres benignant of game.

He still ran astir for illustration a man being chased by a sheepdog and preparing to hurl himself headfirst complete a fence. As ever he looked done it each for illustration a mythical Finnish wartime assassin who only eats self-killed venison and conifer bark.

And yes he fell complete putting nan shot successful nan net. But nan extremity besides came astatine nan extremity of a really slick, profoundly Arsenal benignant of move, 3 parts of nan squad moving successful cleanable concert.

Declan Rice pressed difficult successful nan right-back position. Leandro Trossard was super-smart successful his movement, dropping off, anticipating wherever nan shot would extremity up. Trossard’s instant walk to Kai Havertz was beautifully precise. Havertz looked up and eased nan shot into Gyökeres’s stride arsenic his near ft gave measurement connected a mulchy aboveground and nan shot was whumped debased into nan net.

Gyökeres’s 2nd touch soon afterwards was besides significant. It progressive bumping Noah Sadiki to nan level conscionable extracurricular nan Arsenal punishment area pinch an master flex of his rump, past haring disconnected successful hunt of a return pass. Arenal players don’t really do this benignant of thing. Gyökeres does this. Poaching and arse-bumps. This is what you motion him for. Maybe Mikel Arteta should person conscionable taken him disconnected astatine that point, 2 touches in, a cleanable crippled completed, Total Gyökeres.

However, by now Arsenal were moving distant pinch a crippled they antecedently been stepping distant with. And Gyökeres’s 2nd successful stoppage clip was besides a bully moment. It came from a breakaway successful nan dying moments, nan 2nd successful 4 days connected this ground, a two-man sprint, arms pumping, Chariots of Fire energy, Gabriel Martinelli streaking successful connected goal, Gyökeres showing decent sustained velocity to support pace, past rolling a cleanable small sideways walk into nan backmost of nan Sunderland net.

What does it mean? Is Gyökeres nan existent point now? Is he that trinket successful nan window, nan £68m goal-machine centre forward? Will he ever beryllium that? He remains improbable to beryllium mistaken astatine a casual glimpse for, say, Thierry Henry. Bundling and poaching stay nan game. But successful numbers position things are regularising. He has six goals successful his past 8 crossed 3 competitions. He is now nan club’s apical scorer successful nan convention pinch eight. Someone successful this squad is going to deed double figures, and things will mostly make a small much straight-line sense. Gyökeres has 13 for nan play overall. Wait. Is this … good?

Viktor Gyökeres scores Arsenal’s 3rd goal. Photograph: Tony O Brien/Reuters

And yes you tin excavation a little. Alternate fact: nan only Premier League teams he has scored against are Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Burnley, Everton and Sunderland. What he needs, still, is simply a large extremity against a large team, a infinitesimal of existent edge. But it feels closer. A fewer things do.

Nine points clear successful February, games successful manus notwithstanding, is simply a due lead. It’s location consecutive stuff. You really, really should triumph a convention from here. And nan signs are good. Rice was fantabulous present successful nan two-man pivot, a bully small tweak successful consequence to nan problems against Manchester United. This is bully guidance from Arteta, who has coming again successful faded farming overgarment and midwinter grey slacks, a shadiness of grey truthful astonishingly, insistently forgettable you person to consciousness there’s immoderate benignant of thought process astatine activity here.

Arsenal had 4 mostly attacking players astatine nan start. They had utilized 7 by nan end. Their astir protect midfielder scored nan opening goal, a awesome debased thrust that veered into nan area shape extracurricular nan statement of nan posts.

And Gyökeres apart, nan bedrock was arsenic ever nan defence. Arsenal had their first prime backmost 4 here: Timber-Gabriel-Saliba-Calafiori. It’s an elite lineup. Calafiori, who has been missing successful caller times, was stirring successful his drives down nan left, a romping, galloping cheekbone flexing imagination of elite footballerdom, and a due afloat backmost athlete, each flying hair, muscles, jawline, medieval successful his handsomeness.

That first prime backmost 4 has conceded 1 extremity successful nan convention astatine location each season, nan Erling Haaland breakaway successful September. It has besides only managed to commencement only 9 games, 7 ending successful cleanable sheets. Keep them together from here. Wring much of nan aforesaid retired of nan buttock-bouncing extremity bludgeon up front. And thing does look possible.