VIKTOR GYOKERES seemed genuinely surprised after being told that Gary Lineker had plunged a knife in his back.
Arsenal striker Gyokeres, who has needed a thick skin since returning to English football, said: “What did he say?”
It was explained that Lineker had been unimpressed that since joining the club, he was only attacking the space in the area once the ball had been crossed and he was not gambling with his runs.
For a player who arrived at Arsenal for £54.8million after scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances for Sporting Lisbon, Gyokeres was struggling with his confidence when Lineker took aim in December.
Yet Gyokeres, who scored twice against Sunderland to make it six goals in eight games in 2026, is not disagreeing with the former England forward.
He said: “I can always improve things. I am not a complete player.
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“I am not the best in every aspect and I think it is a good feeling to have as a football player that you know you can always do better and you can always improve.
“I hope I will achieve all that. Of course I want to contribute in that way.
“As a striker, you want to score goals.
“I am happy and there are a lot of games left and I have to keep going like this and as a team, we have to keep winning.
“There is a lot to play for.
“If you change everything in your life, you have to adapt to that as quickly as possible. It is a challenge.
“We kept winning games which was the most important thing and I tried to do my best and kept believing in doing the right things.
“How you deal with things depends on how you are as an individual.
“I think it works in different ways for different people but for me, it was just trying to do the same things and not change too much because it has worked before.
“The most important thing is to do it the same way and of course, adapt to the way we play but keep believing in yourself.
“Of course, you can look back at things you have done successfully but you have to do it again and try to go into games feeling the same way you did when you were scoring.
“Even though it is a state of mind it is the most important thing to have.”
Gyokeres is hitting form at the right time for Arsenal as they close in on an inevitable Premier League title.
The former Coventry forward has scored 13 times in his first 32 matches for Arsenal.
Thierry Henry managed 11 goals in his first 32 games for the club while Dennis Bergkamp struck 10 times over the same number of matches when arriving at Inter Milan.
It would obviously be insane to try and predict Gyokeres will have anything like the impact of two of the best players in Arsenal’s history because this will obviously not happen.
Yet Gunners fans, who greeted Gyokeres with a huge roar when he arrived as a sub for Gabriel Jesus, have been previously rewarded for being patient with their strikers and it looks as though history could repeat itself.
Arsenal struggled until Martin Zubimendi scored from outside the area via the post before half-time.
Gyokeres made it 2-0 with a shot while falling on his backside and he then made it 3-0 with an easy chance after brilliant work by Gabriel Martinelli.
After also beating Chelsea to reach the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, it has been a good week for Arsenal and Gyokeres.
He said: “Two good results, two tough games. Sunderland were tough.
“They are very strong in some areas and made it difficult for us when they put long balls into our box.
“But I think we defended well and then did well at the other end.”
Sunderland defender Dan Ballard, playing against the club where he rose through the ranks, said: “I played a lot for the Arsenal academy, but never with the first team.
“So it was nice to be back with a full stadium playing in the Premier League. It was quite a nice moment.
“It was pretty surreal. I’ve watched countless games here as a kid growing up with the academy and to be on the pitch was really nice.”
Asked about Arsenal’s strength, Ballard added: “They’re not unbeatable, but you saw the quality when we made small mistakes.
“That’s why they have been so successful this season.”
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