A second-half substitute stole the show at the Emirates. Viktor Gyokeres came off the bench to score twice, powering Arsenal to a 3-0 win over Sunderland and sending the Gunners nine points clear at the Premier League summit.
His manager couldn’t hide his admiration afterward. Mikel Arteta stated the Swedish striker is now performing at the “highest level,” a timely surge for a club in a fierce title fight. The victory, cemented by an early Martin Zubimendi strike and Gyokeres’ late double, piles pressure on chasing rivals with just thirteen games remaining.
“Confidence is the magic word,” Arteta said when met by reporters post-match. “When you feel confident, when you feel important, when you feel at your best, that’s when you can really take your game to the highest level. We are really behind him in every moment to try to help him, to try to support him. And he is delivering.”
Gyokeres made his impact swiftly. Introduced after the hour mark, he found the net just six minutes later, effectively killing the contest. He then added a glossing second in stoppage time, a cool finish that sparked celebrations across the stadium. The brace takes his tally to four goals in his last four appearances, a sharp response to earlier criticism in his debut Arsenal campaign.
Since the turn of the year, no player in the Premier League has scored more across all competitions than Gyokeres’ five. It’s a return that hints at a player settling into the immense pressure of leading the line for a title contender.
Arteta highlighted the striker’s temperament as a key asset. “With Viktor, it’s very difficult to understand his emotions because he looks straight at you. But he doesn’t seem too affected by the real highs or the lows,” the manager noted. “He’s very demanding of himself, he’s constantly trying to improve. I love his character.”
The result leaves Arsenal in a commanding position, their destiny firmly in their own hands as they chase a first league crown since 2004. All eyes now turn to Sunday’s seismic clash at Anfield, where Manchester City must beat Liverpool to reduce the gap back to six points. Arteta, however, dismissed the significance of his team’s expanded lead.
“Nothing,” he replied when asked what the win means for the title race. “We still have to win so many games to achieve what we want. I’m going to have a beautiful dinner tonight. Tomorrow I start to prepare for Brentford, because it’s going to be a really tough one. And in the meantime, I will be watching a big, big game.”
For Sunderland, the surprise package of the season, this marked a third defeat in four outings. Manager Regis Le Bris pointed to missed chances early in the second half as the turning point. “We had opportunities to get back in the game, but we didn’t seize those opportunities and if you don’t do that against a team like Arsenal – one of the best teams in England and Europe – then the game has gone,” he explained.
The match itself followed a now-familiar script for Arsenal at home. Zubimendi’s precise low drive from the edge of the box in the 32nd minute settled early nerves against a disciplined Sunderland side. The visitors, organized and threatening on the counter, had their moments but lacked the final punch. Their resistance finally broke with Gyokeres’ introduction, his physical presence and direct running proving too much for a tiring defense.
Arsenal’s season now hinges on maintaining this momentum. The coming weeks present a relentless schedule, but with a key striker hitting form at the perfect time, the dream feels palpably closer at the Emirates.
