Arteta on Gyokeres, MLS and connections | News
Our 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid this week threw up plenty of positives according to Mikel Arteta as we reached the Champions League final for the first time in 20 years.
One of those was the tireless performance of Viktor Gyokeres, who netted in the first leg before Tuesday’s success at Emirates Stadium.
Ahead of our trip to the London Stadium this weekend to face West Ham United, Mikel was asked about the hold-up play of our Swedish forward and revealed his form is down to the hard work on the training pitch.
He said: “I think some of the things you see, certain improvements from players, the work probably hasn’t been done in a day or two – it’s been done over months.
“But it hasn’t happened overnight. Viktor has been working extremely hard; the demands he puts on himself are extremely high.
“He always wants to learn, he’s always asking questions, he always wants to do extra things. He’s always trying to find ways to find those connections with his teammates – whether that be in the canteen, in the dressing room or on the pitch. At the end, when you have that kind of behaviour, you get rewards.”
Another star of the show in N5 was Myles Lewis-Skelly, who has back-to-back starts in midfield against Fulham and Atleti.
On his evolution into midfield, Mikel said: “I think it’s been a process of, probably understanding him better, him understanding as well the standards that are required when you play or don’t play that much at this level, to understand the reasons why you play or don’t play as well.
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“He’s been exceptional, his attitude, the way he’s been trained, the way he’s been supporting the boys when he hasn’t played, and he’s given us every sign to think that when we were going to give him the chance, he was going to respond in the manner that he’s done it.
“But after he’s done it, and it’s not easy, especially when you haven’t played that much, to look that confident, that energetic, that playing with that determination, it’s something that is surprising.”
The last two fixtures have seen Ben White and Bukayo Saka start together. The pair have formed a good connection in their time playing together and the boss believes those relationships are crucial to success.
He said: “When you talk about the right units, for example, I think the amount of minutes that they’ve played this season has been extremely low for different circumstances, and it’s great that they have a really good connection, a really good understanding, they have played many years together, and you can sense and notice that in a really positive way.”
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