Mikel Arteta said Viktor Gyokeres has raised his game to the “highest level” after the striker’s two goals helped Arsenal beat Sunderland 3-0.
The Swedish strike came off the bench to net twice in the second half to seal a hard-earned victory to go nine points clear at the summit after Martin Zubimendi’s stunner broke the deadlock before the break.
It was the first time Gyokeres had netted in successive Premier League games for the Gunners since his move in the summer after scoring against Leeds last week as he took his tally to eight league goals in what has not exactly been a sparkling debut season in North London.
But after finally hitting some form, Arteta believes the £64million man to showing the “confidence” needed to be a success at Arsenal.
The Gunners boss said: “Confidence is the magic word. 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, and he’s in a really good moment now.
“Obviously, when you put that shirt on, there is lot of responsibility and huge expectation, and you need to live with that.
“In your journey, you’re going to have moments where it goes really well, and then others where it is going to be tough.
“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. He’s very demanding of himself, he’s constantly trying to improve.
“I love his character, the way he approaches every single day and the fact that he’s so focused on the present, what he has to do, and he has a genuine will to help the team in whatever role he has.”
Arsenal are now in a commanding position to claim their first title since 2004 after extending their lead to nine points with 13 games left to play.
Challengers Manchester City have a difficult trip to Liverpool on Sunday in their quest to trim the Gunners’ lead back to six points.
Asked what this win means in their quest for the title, Arteta replied: “Nothing. 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 (on Thursday), because it’s going to be a really tough one.
“And in the meantime, I will be watching a big, big game (Liverpool vs City).”
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