Turns out Viktor Gyökeres is a flat-track bully after all

After Sunday's historic North London derby demolition, just ten more matches stand between Arsenal and Premier League glory. At the weekend, Mikel Arteta's team smashed a frankly pathetic Spurs team 4-1 for the second time this season.

This was the Gunners' biggest victory at White Hart Lane since a 5-0 drubbing in 1978, while they have enjoyed four successive away wins over their fiercest rivals for the first time since 1955. They last score 4+ home and away against Tottenham in the same season 91 years ago; that year, the Gunners won the title and Spurs were relegated, with a repeat of both very much on the cards.

Having scored a hat-trick in November, Eberechi Eze was the hero again, bagging another two goals, as did Viktor Gyökeres. The Swede lashed his team ahead straight after the break, Guglielmo Vicario barely ever saw it, before bullying Archie Gray to fire in the clincher in injury time.

Most Arsenal fans and neutrals alike have been pretty underwhelmed by Gyökeres this season. He could not stop scoring at Sporting, netting 97 times in 102 outings for them, thereby picking up the Gerd Müller Trophy in September, but is finding the jump in difficulty level from the Primeira Liga to the Premier League an enormous one. However, there are encouraging signs of late.

Top scorers in the Premier League in 2026

Since the turn of the year, Gyökeres has scored more Premier League goals than anyone else. It was his second brace of the calendar year, following on from one against Sunderland, as well as his fourth for the club, also bagging a double against Leeds in August and Atlético Madrid in the Champions League.

Thus, he is the first Arsenal player to score four or more braces during their debut campaign at the club since Alexis Sánchez 11 years ago. However, is there another trend that is emerging?

Viktor Gyökeres: the ultimate flat-track

As already noted, Gyökeres scored almost 100 goals across two seasons in Portugal. Meantime, he was the top-scorer during the most-recent edition of the UEFA Nations League, notching nine in just six appearances, albeit these came against Slovakia, Estonia and Azerbaijan down in League C. Thus, there was a sense that he may be something of a flat-track bully, so is this coming to pass?

Premier League matches in which Viktor Gyökeres has scored

Gyökeres' penalty to defeat Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium just before Christmas is the only time this season he has scored a Premier League goal against a team not in the bottom half.

Also setting aside his double to down Sunderland, all of the striker's other goals have come against teams in danger of relegation, namely Burnley, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and, yes, Tottenham. With Chelsea to come on Sunday and the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City three weeks later, it is something of a concern that Gyökeres only scores against terrible teams, but these were matches Arsenal were not winning in previous title pushes. Arteta will certainly hope if marquee summer signing is starting to find his best form as we approach the title run in.