Former forward turned pundit Paul Merson has praised Arsenal star Viktor Gyokeres following his excellent performance against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

After joining the Gunners from Sporting CP this summer, the 27-year-old displayed a below-average debut performance against Manchester United in the opening Premier League fixture.

However, he scored a brace vs Leeds United in the second league game, and it was thought that he would kick on from there. But, following that, he only managed to score once in nine appearances across all competitions.

The forward even failed to find the back of the net in seven consecutive matches before netting a brace vs Los Rojiblancos on Tuesday. Now, speaking on Sky Sports (via Metro), Merson says that Arsenal were excellent against Los Rojiblancos, and Gyokeres’ brace capped off a perfect night.

The Swede was anonymous in the first half but sprang to life in the second. Scoring is always important for strikers, but he is not a player who only cares about personal glory; rather, he is a team player, and players like him are required in every team.

Merson said:

“As a centre-forward you want to score goals even though you’re working hard...