"So quick": Leandro Trossard blown away by 34-touch Arsenal star after win vs Leverkusen
Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard heaped praise on Viktor Gyokeres following the 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie.
The Gunners played out a 1-1 draw against Leverkusen in the first leg at the BayArena last week. They needed a stronger performance and delivered it to progress to the quarter-final.
Eberechi Eze opened the scoring with a sublime powerful effort from the edge of the box. Declan Rice put the gloss on the result with a fine curling strike just after the hour mark.
Rice was handed the man of the match, but there were several other impressive performers, including Viktor Gyokeres upfront. The Swede was heavily involved in the final third with 34 touches.
The 27-year-old also made 12 successful passes with 13 carries. Speaking after the game, Trossard was certainly impressed by the progression of the striker in the Gunners shirt this term.
He said: “There’s always a bit of adaptation and over the last months he has developed a lot. He is so strong, so quick, he makes so many runs.”
Gyokeres had a slow start to his Gunners career, and questions were raised over his overall displays. However, he has gradually improved with his hold-up and link-up play.
The former Sporting CP man has 10 goal contributions since the turn of the year. He did not make one yesterday, but was certainly involved in attacks until his late substitution.
Gyokeres was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly prior to stoppage time, and it appears quite clear that he will be leading the line against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Arsenal are aiming to win their first piece of silverware in almost six years. Gyokeres can cement his name as a favourite by guiding the Gunners to a long-awaited trophy at Wembley Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Gunners will face Gyokeres’ former club Sporting in the Champions League quarter-final. The Portuguese champions made a tremendous comeback from 3-0 down in the first leg against Bodo/Glimt to secure a 5-3 aggregate win.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
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