Viktor Gyokeres: Arsenal striker has best game for club since joining with two-goal display vs Tottenham

There are still a lot of questions about Arsenal, the title race and what is to come from them in the run-in this season. But one thing is absolutely certain: Viktor Gyokeres had his best game for the club against Tottenham.

Mikel Arteta, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and Jamie Redknapp all felt the Arsenal striker hit a new level in one of Arsenal's biggest games of the season. His two second-half goals saw him share the stage with Eberechi Eze and his own brace, but there was much more to Gyokeres' game than that.

"I thought it was his best moment of the season," said Neville. "Not just because he scored two in a game against the biggest rivals and had a wonderful celebration over there with the Arsenal fans, but because his general performance from start to finish is what you would expect from him."

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In his display at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Gyokeres had the most touches he's managed in a single game since joining Arsenal, by quite a distance. He was more involved - but, crucially, those touches led to substantial output.

Gyokeres was central to Arsenal's threat on the night. He nearly gave the Gunners the lead within minutes as he curled a first half shot wide of goal in that left channel - after being given too much space by Radu Dragusin.

It was a warning sign of what was to come - as, again, minutes into the second period he was given the space to fire from the edge of the box to put Arsenal 2-1 up.

"We do that move a few times in training," said Gyokeres to Sky Sports after the game - before saying he took note of Eze's strikes in the reverse fixture against Spurs as inspiration for it.

After all, they all came in the same area of the pitch. Edge of the box, middle of the goal.

For Eze, the feeling was mutual, as Arsenal's No 10 admitted his own two-goal performance would not have been possible without Gyokeres. "Vik was doing it all game, you can see his work ethic," Eze told Sky Sports.

"He helps the team, not just with his goals but the effort he puts in. It gets players like me in the best positions and it helps a lot. He's got his two goals today which he deserves."

That's not the first time an Arsenal player has spoken about how underrated Gyokeres is at bringing others into play in a selfless manner.

After the 3-2 win against Bournemouth in January, Declan Rice paid tribute to Gyokeres for taking defenders away so the England midfielder could score on the south coast.

"With my first goal, without him making that run from Gabriel Martinelli's flick and holding it, setting it off to Martin Odegaard, that goal wouldn't happen," Rice said at the time. "That was a pivotal moment in the game."

That is because of a few reasons. Firstly, Gyokeres attracts other defenders like no other Premier League player. Tracking data from this season shows the Arsenal striker is afforded the least amount of space when he's available to be given the ball.

And that means he can't spin away from defenders, so is forced to hold the ball up. Gyokeres has held the ball up more times than any other Premier League player this season. Only two Premier League players have retained the ball more times.

"It's tough for him, because he's got two defenders on him all game, all over him," Rice added in January. "So he has to use his strength, he has to do all he can to help the team.

"But at the minute, defenders in the Premier League want to be able to stop Viktor Gyökeres, because he's one of the best strikers in the world. Trust me, he's doing unbelievably for us, and we wouldn't be where we are without him."

What we saw against Spurs was what happens if you give Gyokeres too much space to manoeuvre. The first goal he had time to fire in from the edge of the box. The second goal saw him with green grass to move into with Spurs committing bodies forward.

Gyokeres won't get that every game. As Redknapp said: "It was almost hard to assess because of how poor Tottenham were."

But it will be crucial as Arsenal play high-profile games in the season run-in. Like Spurs did on Sunday, teams will step onto Arteta's side a bit more in cup games and Europe. As will Manchester City in that crucial league game in April.

Gyokeres' two goals against Spurs now means he has more Premier League goals than any other player in 2026 in all competitions.

With four goals in his last five Premier League games - and seven in his last 12 matches in all competitions for the Gunners - he seems to be getting the goals his overall play has merited.

If Gyokeres remains consistent, he will be crucial for Arsenal as they fight on all four fronts. "He needs to kick on from that," said Neville. "He set himself a level there today."

(c) Sky Sports 2026: Viktor Gyokeres: Arsenal striker has best game for club since joining with two-goal display vs Tottenham