Ian Wright has launched a staunch defence of Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres after his man of the match display against Fulham.
The Gunners opened up a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League table following a convincing 3-0 win against their London rivals.
Gyokeres scored twice in the first half and also created the opportunity from which Bukayo Saka was able to double his side’s advantage.
After scoring from the penalty spot in Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid, the summer signing from Sporting Lisbon appears to be hitting form at just the right time, particularly in light of an injury to Kai Havertz.
Overall, Gyokeres has now scored 21 goals in all competitions and Wright believes his ability to put lesser teams to the sword has helped cure a long-standing problem for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Wright told Premier League Live: ‘People have been saying for many years Arsenal need to get a striker. Then we get the striker and people say he’s not good enough.
‘You have to say 21 goals, obviously 12 in the Premier League, says that he’s done the job for us.
‘He did the job for us today and I’m sure against the teams we’ve got coming like West Ham, I think he could probably put in the same kind of performance and probably nick another couple of goals.
‘If he only scores against those kind of teams that’s what Arsenal have always needed.
‘They don’t have problems scoring against the top six, it’s the other teams like the Fulhams and the Wolves and the teams like that we’ve had problems scoring against.
‘He’s come in and he’s kind of solved that problem for us.’
Gyokeres’ combination with Saka was a particularly encouraging aspect of a devstating first 45 minutes, particularly given the pair have struggled to form an understanding so far this season.
‘Yes, they haven’t played together much unfortunately because of the injuries that we had, but there are relationships that I really enjoyed today.’
Saka, starting his first game since the Carabao Cup final in March, was substituted at half-time as a precaution but looks as though he will be ready for Atletico on Tuesday.
‘We had to, he played 30-odd minutes in Madrid, now he’s played 45 minutes,’ added Arteta.
‘We need to ramp up his load but we need to be careful because we need him on that pitch.’