Victor Goqueres, who joined Arsenal in the summer, feels there are “plenty of goals ahead” for the club, with manager Mikel Arteta suggesting the “debate” could end after his brace in the Champions League.
The Gunners are currently in the best form in all of Europe. They lead the Premier League with six wins from eight games, but are one of only three teams to have won every game in the Champions League so far.
The overall level of the team is high, and although there are a few outstanding players, most of the players are performing at a good level together.
But after signing Gokeres for £64 million in the summer, after a season in which he scored 54 goals in all competitions for Sporting CP, they would have expected more after seeing him score just three goals in his first 11 games.
They won 4-0 against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Gokeres scored Arsenal’s third and fourth goals, both of which were poacher-like goals that found the back of the net despite little movement in the box. First, he disentangled the ball from his feet and thrust it towards the goal. A deflection from the defender sent the ball into the bottom corner of the goal.
The Swede then expected Gabriel Magalhães to nod back across the box, breaking free at the back post and curling the ball home.
After the match, Gokeres said the pressure of wearing the No. 14 jersey that made Thierry Henry famous was not too much, but suggested there was more to come.
“Honestly, I feel great. I feel like I’m going to score a lot of goals when I’m wearing that uniform. It feels great,” he said on CBS Sports.
“To be honest, there weren’t that many jersey numbers available! But when I found out it was available, it was a huge honor to take it.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have Thierry’s number so I couldn’t ask him if it was okay. But I took it and it’s a great honor for me.”
“It’s always great to score a goal and it feels great to do it in this tournament.
“I’m more hungry now. You always want to contribute with your work rate and other things, but when you also score a goal it’s a little special. So that’s something I always want to do.”
“[The support from my teammates]means a lot and they’re great. I think our group and our spirit is something different and very special.”
“I feel great. I did a lot of things right today and my performance was great.”
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Arsenal manager Arteta has suggested that the debate over Gokeres’ lack of goalscoring ability may be coming to an end.
“I’m very happy because he deserves this award. The work rate he brings to the team is outstanding.
“We appreciate a lot of things he does for the team and he had the biggest smile on his face today and looking at his teammates it was great. Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences.”
“I think we’ve become more and more unpredictable. He’s very physical and open and has a face for everyone.
“The way he presses the ball, the way he holds the ball is phenomenal. The rest is history, but the biggest thing we discuss about him is the goals. He scored two very different goals today and hopefully he will get his momentum back and start scoring some good goals.”
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