Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta defends Viktor Gyokeres and insists goals will come

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is confident the goals will soon start to flow for Viktor Gyokeres.

Sweden striker Gyokeres has drawn a blank in his last five matches having been frustrated again in Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League win over Olympiacos.

However, it was the 27-year-old’s shot which was deflected on to a post to allow Gabriel Martinelli to score Arsenal’s opener, while he was also denied by some last-ditch defending.

“What I sense is that he’s doing better and better things every game,” said Arteta.

“He was denied a few times with blocks, and then he hit the post, but I think overall his performance was exceptional.

“Again, his work was really good, and yeah, we want him to be scoring goals, but if he doesn’t do that, at least to do everything as he’s doing for the team, because he’s helping the team a lot.”

The Gunners face struggling West Ham at home in the Premier League on Saturday, when the floodgates could open for Gyokeres.

“I don’t know, but hopefully, yes, and hopefully it will be on Saturday,” added Arteta.

Bukayo Saka came off the bench to wrap up another satisfactory night’s work in Europe for Arsenal, who now have six points from their opening two games.

Spanish midfielder Martin Zubimendi played the full 90 minutes in his first taste of the Champions League at Emirates Stadium.

“I’m really happy,” he told the club website: “The atmosphere was amazing. We scored two and kept a clean sheet.

“It was really demanding. We started really well but at the end they pushed a lot in the second half. I think we suffered in some moments where we shouldn’t have.

“We want to keep the momentum and win as many games as possible. We will recover well and prepare for the next game against West Ham.”