Arsenal’s flawless Champions League record continued as they dominated Atletico Madrid in the second half, ending Viktor Gyokeres’ scoring drought. Early in the competition, the Gunners dominated their opponents with four goals in 13 minutes, securing three victories and three clean sheets.
Eberechi Eze’s deflected drive hit the bar, Bukayo Saka was denied a one-on-one by Jan Oblak, and Gabriel Martinelli was just offside when he tapped in a Saka cross, but the first half ended without a goal, but not for lack of effort. Julian Alvarez was robbed by Giovanni Simeone by the corner flag, but David Raya was lucky that he was unable to locate the net.
Before Arsenal used the time-tested method of a set piece to end the draw, Gabriel Magalhaes headed in Declan Rice’s inviting free kick after Gyokeres had once again put Oblak to the test early in the second half. Before things got out of control, Alvarez hit the bar for Atleti.
Gyokeres explains delayed celebration after ending goal drought
Gyokeres said in an interview with Amazon Prime following the match that he was afraid VAR might find a way to reject the goal, so he didn’t want to overcelebrate. Yes, VAR was to blame for it. “I’m not sure; it might have been something,” he said to Gabby Logan.
“I didn’t want to [celebrate] too much; I just wanted to wait.” Naturally, scoring two goals and winning this game was fantastic because it demonstrates where we are right now.
Ultimately, Gyokeres was urged to rejoice by players like Declan Rice and Gabriel Martinelli, who were obviously thrilled that the summer acquisition had ended his goal drought. The striker continued by complimenting his teammates and emphasising the squad’s unity.
They’re amazing, and I think it shows in the way we play together and the team spirit is something else, Gyokeres added. The Gunners defeated the La Liga team 4-0 thanks to goals from Gabriel and Martinelli. This puts them on nine points in the league stage of the Champions League this season.
