Mirror Football looks at two stories in the aftermath of Arsenal's 2-0 win over Olympiacos in the Champions League, including goal-scorer Gabriel Martinelli's post-match comments about a team-mate
Arsenal secured another win in the Champions League's league phase on Wednesday as they look to mount a serious challenge this season. The Gunners started strongly against Greek champions Olympiacos and were rewarded in the 12th minute when Viktor Gyokeres bulldozed his way through the visitors’ defence to get his shot off at goal, only for Gabriel Martinelli to score the follow-up.
Last season’s semi-finalists could have had plenty more goals on the night but were wasteful, while Olympiacos asked more questions of Mikel Arteta’s side in the second half. Any lingering concerns around the Emirates Stadium were put to bed in the 92nd minute when substitute Bukayo Saka’s low-fired shot went in through the goalkeeper’s legs to clinch a 2-0 win and all three points.
It was another relatively straightforward win for Arsenal despite things not quite clicking into place just yet, given their new summer additions and a more direct style of play. Now, ahead of what could be a tricky home game against West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday, we take a look at two of the latest stories surrounding the Gunners.
Martinelli backs Gyokeres to score 40 goals
Martinelli believes team-mate Gyokeres is capable of netting 40 goals in his debut season for Arsenal. Gyokeres has had a mixed start to life in north London, scoring three goals to kick off the campaign but struggling to impose himself on the majority of games so far.
The £64million Swede, who arrived from Sporting CP in the summer, has been far more like his usual self over the past two games, however, despite not finding the net.
That was evident against Olympiacos as he played a crucial role in the opener and was unlucky not to score two himself. And Brazilian Martinelli thinks it’s just a matter of time before Gyokeres explodes, having gone five games without a goal.
The forward said: "It’s really good to play with Martin Odegaard there because he’s always trying to find you, when we make the movement. And for Victor as well, his qualities as well, as he likes to go in behind and attack the opposition’s box.
"I think him playing with Martin as well is going to be good for him. We are going to try to give him the ball as much as possible to make him score, I don't know, 30 or 40 goals a season.
"We are really happy with him, we trust him, we know his qualities and he’s one of the top strikers in the world right now. We trust him and we are trying to give him the confidence to score and to do his best on the pitch to help us."
Club legend warns duo
Martin Keown has warned William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes that any mistakes from the central defensive pairing could see them dropped for new signing Cristhian Mosquera. Saliba and Gabriel have been an integral part of arguably the best defence in the country over the past few years, and have had little competition.
But 21-year-old Spaniard Mosquera, brought in for a bargain £13m from Valencia in the summer, showed he is more than capable of stepping up to the plate when Saliba was out injured at the start of this season. Keown believes the two veteran defenders will improve knowing that a strong replacement is waiting in the wings to potentially take their place.
The legendary former Gunners defender said ahead of the West Ham clash: “Mosquera, the new acquisition, he’s really top draw. He has the same DNA as [Saliba and Gabriel]. Kiwior perhaps didn’t. He wasn’t as quick or as strong. It’s a high level [now] and [Mosquera] will push [Saliba and Gabriel] to play even better. They can’t make mistakes.”
Mosquera has made eight appearances so far this season and, with the exception of an error which led to Newcastle’s corner and goal last weekend, has been flawless.