Home / Football / Premier League News Arteta says Gyokeres has raised game to highest level after brace against Black Cats Gyokeres scored in successive Premier League games for the first time ever Written by Cian Cheesbrough Last Update: February 7, 2026 08:08:11 pm GMT 3 min read Mikel Arteta said Viktor Gyokeres has raised his game to the highest level after the strikers 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 Zubimendis 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, thats 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 hes 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, youre going to have moments where it goes really well, and then others where it is going to be tough.With Viktor, its very difficult to understand his emotions because he looks straight at you. But he doesnt seem too affected by the real highs or the lows. Hes very demanding of himself, hes constantly trying to improve.I love his character, the way he approaches every single day and the fact that hes 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.Im going to have a beautiful dinner tonight. Tomorrow I start to prepare for Brentford (on Thursday), because its going to be a really tough one.And in the meantime, I will be watching a big, big game (Liverpool vs City). Topics: Arsenal F.C. Viktor Gyokeres Follow us: Cian Cheesbrough Cian is a sports journalist with experience writing for national titles, including LiveScore, MailOnline, Eurosport and Sky Sports.
He has covered a number of key events during his time in the industry, including from the press box at live Champions League fixtures. Read more from Cian Cheesbrough
