If you thought you were coming here today to read me apologise to the big man for my slander of his abilities over the past few months… you’d be absolutely right.
Viktor Gyokeres delivered the exact sort of performance we thought we were buying when we brought him to the carpet in the summer. His two goals were the deliverables of the brief that demanded Andrea Berta bring Arteta players who could take cagey 1-0 leads and turn them into 3-0 batterings.
We wanted players that would take our dreadful habit of playing with our food and turn us into jungle killers. Gyokeres was introduced on 60 minutes and within 6 minutes, he killed a game that was heading to the set-piece last 20 Alamo we failed to deal with in the away leg. The big Swede took control of a Kai Havertz pass, cut himself some space, and smashed past Roefs from 8 yards out while falling over.
Was that the most important goal of his Arsenal career to date? I would say so. That game didn’t need the deft touches of Jesus; it needed a blunt force instrument. That was your dad taking a slipper to a bug in the living room. Premier League brutality, smeared across the eggshell white paint.
Am I choking on humble pie? Sure am. But this is like your dad catching you smoking cigarettes and punishing you by making you smoke a box of 20. What if I like smoking? Can you call this a punishment? Not really. I’ll eat ‘Arsenal winning’ humble pie all day long. Dry. No cream. I don’t care friends, all I want to see is a great Arsenal win a trophy and we’re very close.
Judging by the 1,000+ comments dropped here yesterday, I don’t need to tell you how massive that result was, we all felt it. Sunderland are a top, top team. Packed with power, technicality, and a manager who is having a spectacular season. They weren’t here just for the deep and mid-block, they fancied themselves to get at us. We all had the same thoughts by about 30 minutes. This could end as a draw, couldn’t it?
Where was the magic moment going to come from, who was going to step up? Zubimendi. That’s who. The Spaniard showed up with a piece of technical magic Dennis Bergkamp would have purred over. Trossard teed him up on the edge of the box, Zubi let the ball move across his body and cut his shot at the inside post with the outside of his boot. The man has a PhD in football craftsmanship. That strike was simply sublime and it signalled that we have difference-makers that we didn’t have last season. We all had a lot of time for the Merino celebration, honouring their fallen soldier who was sitting in the box watching on.
But take in that goal. Take in the concentration. Think about the big gameness of it all. That’s Bergkamp stuff right there. Normally, I’d have 50 people slagging me for saying stuff like that, doubt anyone will pipe up today, because we all recognize that Zubimendi is the best signing of last summer and it’s not even close. This guy has Bergkamp comparables and he’s a number 6. Wild, wild stuff.
The thing that really appealed to me about the game is it wasn’t just him that had a hero moment. Declan Rice pinged a blistering right-footed shot that narrowly missed the top corner. Kai Havertz went on another Thierry run, clipping a curled shot at the left upright, again, it was very close. But all this chat that we’re not any good at open play / Arteta is constraining them, didn’t really suit the movie that played out yesterday.
We’re so used to total domination, we tend to overblow how good opponents are. But, I have a soft spot for Sunderland, and I really thought they were brave. They expressed their power all over the pitch, the leader being Brobbey, who was tangling with everyone. Saliba picked up a yellow card after getting the wrong side of him, and Brobbey was lucky he didn’t break the leg of Big Gabi with a late challenge. Staying on the topic of him, the best chance was after Raya claimed a cross and dropped it into the Dutchman’s path; the first-time shot was scuttled wide by the sharp instincts of Kai. Might have been going wide, but still, a nervy moment.
Nervy moments were more the issue, especially in the first half. Calafiori made a couple of uncharacteristic errors in quick succession that led to transitions. Saliba also wasn’t totally in control of his game and I’d say he was a little poor by his standards. That didn’t play out in xG, Sunderland managing just 0.17. But, it did play into their strategy of creating chaos that could have worked for them on another day.
The subs really carried the game. Gabriel Jesus, who had quite a poor showing, especially with his pressing, made way for Gyokeres. Madueke, who also had another no-show outing, made way for Martinelli. Pressing, energy, and fear was the idea and it worked. The third goal was Arsenal breaking in transition with Martinelli leading the sprint, Viktor kept track, and Martinelli fed him for a tap-in… Gyokeres did a falling Bane mask. Felt a little bit like the time Thierry scored against Liverpool and fell into the net shrugging his shoulders because the goal was so basic. Quite a fitting ‘make good’ after Martinelli stole Gyokeres’s goal in the Kairat game.
There were so many great performances, but the midfield really stole the show for me. Declan Rice and his relentlessness, combined with the craft and guile of Zubimendi is quite simply unmatched in the Premier League right now. No one has what we have. Who is talking about Caicedo these days?
No one. Who else do you want in your midfield? These two are the best around right now. We just need to keep them fit.
A lot of the focus after the game has been on Viktor Gyokeres and how he’s the Golden Boot leader for 2026 so far. Good. That’s where I want the chat to be. His militant following has spent the best part of 6 months trying to create new metrics to describe his dire output. I want goals. If he’s scoring them, then he’s winning for me. Bringing him on with 30 to go to press tired legs was supreme tactical planning. If he can flat-track bully small teams and stretch fatigued players late on, then we have ourselves a nice use case for him at Arsenal. I know people will be upset to read this, but Le Bris said after the game that the game was different when we made the subs and our options took advantage of tiredness. Does he get the start against Brentford? Who knows. But we have three options now who are showing up with the goods and that is a lot better than where we were this time last season. Great job Viktor, let’s see if you can get to 20.
Talking of 20, we were the first team to 20 clean sheets in Europe this week, now we’re at 21 for the season. We’ve conceded just 17 in the league. Arsenal fans have mental breakdowns if we concede more than 0.2 xG these days. What an immense job the squad and coaching staff do to ensure our players care as much about clean sheets as we do about goals. Arsenal are the best defensive team in the world. What an effort. Simply incredible.
We also have to give immense credit to Mikel Arteta. He’s managing the rotations really well at the moment, he’s keeping players sharp, he has opposition managers calling us the best after games. This season has just been near perfection so far. We’re top of the league with the 4th highest wage bill. We look like the best team in the world right now and we have 3 months to prove exactly that by bringing home some serious silverware.
Now all eyes shift to the Man City vs Liverpool game. Pep G is spiralling at the moment, his side know if they drop points today, it’s going to be really hard for them to win the league. Liverpool are now 5 points behind a resurgent Man United and 4 behind Chelsea. They’re out of the Champions League spots as it stands. Arne Slot has to mastermind a win. Liverpool players need to put a shift in if they want Champions League bonuses. This game is HUGE for both clubs.
13 Premier League games left for Arsenal. A lot can go wrong, but a lot can go right, let’s see what the footballing gods have for us this fine Sunday. x
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Good time to be an arsenal fan