Viktor Gyokeres admits Arsenal Premier League nerves and calls on team-mates to respond

Viktor Gyokeres has been speaking exclusively to football.london and has shared his thoughts on what it takes to win a Premier League title with Arsenal this season

Viktor Gyokeres strode into the room exuding self-assurance. This was not a striker who seemed rattled as Arsenal battle to claim both the Premier League and Champions League.

The expertise of the former Sporting CP star, who secured consecutive titles in Portugal, will prove vital to the Gunners as they approach the business end of the 2025/26 campaign. Gyokeres has led Arsenal’s pursuit of their ultimate prize for most of the season and has now called on his colleagues to maintain concentration and relish the title run-in despite the burden of aspiration and pressure upon them.

Speaking to Football London, Gyökeres outlined what’s required mentally to claim a league triumph. “You have to be so focused every game and take every game as seriously as you can, no matter who you play. All the points that you get count in the end,” the 27-year-old said.

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“You have to think like that, but also not to get too frustrated if it doesn’t go your way because it’s always a long season and there’s still a lot to play for.

“Even now, when we’re in April, there’s a lot of games still to play, we just have to focus on doing our job and to enjoy it. Not think too much about what can happen or how the end result is going to be. I think the most important thing is to play football and to enjoy it on the pitch.”

There was a substantial push during the summer to bolster Arsenal’s squad depth. Mikel Arteta sought at least two reliable options for every position, with Gyökeres linking up with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as the central striking choices. Yet alongside this quality in numbers came a focus on winning pedigree. Martin Zubimendi, a Copa del Rey champion with Real Sociedad, Eberechi Eze, an FA Cup victor with Crystal Palace, and Piero Hincapie, an unbeaten Bundesliga title winner, all arrived.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, a multiple cup-winning goalkeeper, and Noni Madueke, a UEFA Conference League champion and member of the Chelsea squad that subsequently claimed the Club World Cup, also put pen to paper. These seasoned winners will surely assist those squad members who have fallen short in recent campaigns, though while Gyökeres acknowledges that varied mindsets and viewpoints matter, everyone must share the same goal – claiming silverware.

“Every player has different experiences through their careers and different feelings about the same situations,” he said. “I think it’s always important to come with a different mindset sometimes and to look at it in a different way.

“But with the same intentions as everyone else in the club, and together with everyone. We have a lot of players in the team who have won trophies, and that’s what we want to do again this season.”

As a collective, Arsenal have attracted considerable criticism, with their exits from the League Cup and FA Cup only intensifying the spotlight. Claims of anxiety spreading throughout the squad, resulting in nervy performances, have dominated mainstream debate surrounding the Gunners.

Some players might brush this off when questioned, even if the jitters are genuinely there, fearing it exposes vulnerability. Not Gyökeres.

For the Swede, nerves only become problematic if you let them spiral into something destructive. Butterflies make you human, and rather than signalling cowardice, they actually reveal how deeply someone values something – just as this Arsenal squad desperately craves Premier League glory.

“I think if you feel nerves, I think it means that it matters for you,” he stated. “I think it’s not bad if you take it in the right way and you put that energy in the right direction.

“So to have nerves, I think it’s not a bad thing. It’s just bad if you convert it into something negative, and it depends on how you handle those emotions.”

It’s not solely about players, though. Gabriel Heinze joined the coaching setup during the summer just prior to the £63.5million forward’s arrival, and has brought his own winning mentality to the table as well.

A Premier League, Ligue 1 and La Liga champion as a player, the Argentine understands precisely what’s required to claim silverware. With the Gunners boasting the finest attacking and defensive records this term in England’s top division, his impact is evident and despite operating at the opposite end of the pitch to Heinze’s primary area, Gyökeres outlined his advantages.

“I think he brings a lot of good energy into the group,” Gyökeres said. “He has a good drive in him, and I think that spreads throughout the group. A lot of experience as a player as well. He brings a lot.”

Arteta has nurtured countless players during his tenure as Arsenal’s boss, striving to extract their full potential and aid their development. Stars like Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Jurrien Timber have been cultivated from their youth and now rank amongst the globe’s finest in their respective roles.

Even those who joined later in their careers, including Havertz, David Raya, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard, have made significant progress. Gyökeres fits into the age category of the latter group, and while he remains fresh-faced and has enjoyed limited exposure to his new manager, he acknowledges being exposed to numerous fresh concepts, with a clear, comprehensive and personalised development strategy in place daily for squad members. “It’s been very interesting,” he said. “A lot of new things, you learn a lot every day here.

“So, in that sense, it’s great. He tries to improve us every day, individually and as a team. I just try to be the best I can in training and in the games. Go forward as a player and as a team.”

Gyökeres has found the net 17 times across all competitions this season, six ahead of the club’s next highest goalscorer. Despite enduring some difficult spells, Arteta revealed in October – when the striker had managed just three goals – what he demanded from the player.

“I told him, before the first meeting, the (number) nine that I want is a nine that when he doesn’t score for six or eight games, he can handle that,” Arteta said. “If not, we have to go somewhere else. Because the pressure, the expectation is going to be there so if you put on the number nine shirt for Arsenal, you have to be able to say, ‘six games, don’t score, am I a different player? And start to act in a different way.

“I want much more of the same of what he’s doing and yeah, when we have to opportunities (put them away). I am sure he is going to do it.”

Gyökeres remains an unflappable character, brimming with self-belief. When questioned about Arteta’s remarks, it was evident that he has faith in his contribution to the side and that securing victory takes precedence, regardless of how satisfying it feels to find the back of the net. “It’s always the best feeling if we win games and I score as many goals as I can in the game, that’s the best feeling as a striker, no matter what anyone says,” the Sweden international said. “I think everyone who plays as a nine wants that, but then that’s not the reality.

“You’re going to have games where you don’t score, maybe you didn’t get the chances, or you didn’t take them. Just stay focused and be ready because it’s going to come. And when it comes, you have to be ready.”