Gyokeres' teammate defends him: He scored loads of goals | OneFootball

Viktor Gyokeres continues in a goal drought, as he hasn't scored in seven games for Arsenal. Despite the criticism he's facing, Mikel Merino, a teammate at the Gunners, defended the Swedish international and didn't forget Sporting, in a preview of the match against Atlético Madrid for the Champions League.

"He has quality, no doubt. He has the tools, the physical ability, and the players around him to serve him the goals. It's just a matter of time until he starts scoring," he began in a press conference, continuing.

"I see him quite confident. I think he's a player with a lot of self-confidence. You can see every day in training that he does things right. As long as he keeps working and giving us his best performances... I feel he knows what he's capable of," he defended, before recalling: "He scored I don't know how many goals last season [for Sporting], and that's not something you forget overnight. He will be there, and we all trust him. We know he's a world-class player."

Regarding Gyokeres, the player confirmed that he has the full support of the Arsenal locker room: "With Viktor, we try to show him our affection and support him, but that's the mentality we have as a team. Everyone needs that affection, to feel comfortable and surrounded by good people and a team they can count on."

"Obviously, if he scores, it's even better for everyone and for him too. But the main thing, as I said, is for the team to win. As long as the team is winning, he and everyone else will be happy," he further noted, while reminding that a forward is not measured only by goals.

"We can't focus only on the numbers. I know that in modern football numbers count a lot, but anyone who watches the games can see how much he gives us. He offers us immense options with and without the ball. The workload he presents in each game is incredible, just look at the data to understand how much he helps the team. Sometimes it's unfair for forwards because if they don't score, it seems like they're not doing anything. But he's contributing a lot to us, and I'm sure the goals will come. The most important thing is to help the team win. We are a team, a collective, and I'm sure he's also happy to be giving his best for his teammates," he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.