Jamie Carragher has praised Viktor Gyokeres after the Arsenal striker scored twice in the 4-1 north London derby win over Tottenham, despite previously urging Mikel Arteta to drop him. The 27-year-old endured a slow start to his first Premier League season, managing just five league goals, which led to questions over Arsenal's summer decision to sign him from Sporting Lisbon.
However, Gyokeres has been in fine form since the turn of the year, and his brace against Tottenham marked his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. Carragher, who in December said Gyokeres 'shouldn't be starting' ahead of the fit-again Gabriel Jesus, changed his tune after the match.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher said: 'The thing I like about Viktor Gyokeres is his mentality. I don’t think he’s a world-class striker or an amazing striker for Arsenal for the next five or years. But I absolutely love his mentality. There’s no lack of confidence with him, he just gets the ball and bangs it in, it’s Alan Shearer-like.'
Carragher also credited Arteta for sticking with Gyokeres. 'The manager has stuck by him week after week and the strength he showed in this game, it was very Alan Shearer-like. We were looking at the strikers Arsenal had and I felt he was quite far down the pecking order... But fair play to the manager because he’s kept him in and he’s repaid him in one of Arsenal’s biggest games of the season.'
