Shearer praises ‘exceptional’ player who ‘offered Arsenal so much’ against Atletico

Arsenal are heading to a Champions League final for the first time in two decades.

After grinding out a brilliantly tense 1-0 victory over Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, the Gunners secured a 2-1 aggregate win that will be talked about in North London for a long time.

Bukayo Saka was the ultimate hero, pouncing to score the decisive goal to book their ticket to the grand finale.

But while the star winger naturally grabbed the main headlines, Premier League legend Alan Shearer was busy singling out another “exceptional” Arsenal player who completely ran the show.

Mikel Arteta’s side managed to dismantle one of the most stubborn defensive units in world football and his striker Viktor Gyokeres played a crucial role.

Alan Shearer praised Arsenal attacker Gyokeres

Speaking after the final whistle, Shearer couldn’t contain his praise for the Swedish powerhouse, highlighting a specific tactical tweak Arteta has made that has unlocked a terrifying new level to his game.

‘Apart that miss his centre forward play has been superb,’ Shearer said on Prime Video, as reported by Metro.

‘His running off the ball, his hold up play for his team, taking knocks all night and making runs… he really has been exceptional.

‘It’s exactly the type of performance his team needed from him and something to build on. He offered Arsenal so much tonight.’

Sweden international star was impressive against Atletico

Rather than just playing as a traditional, static target man, Gyokeres has been given the tactical freedom to relentlessly terrorise the channels, and it worked to perfection against Atletico.

Shearer noted that the striker was completely unplayable, brilliantly holding up the ball under immense pressure and constantly dragging Atletico’s seasoned centre-backs out of position.

By having a striker who actively relishes the physical battle, it completely relieves the pressure on the creative midfielders like Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka, allowing them to exploit the pockets of space Gyokeres leaves behind.

Mikel Arteta: “Gyökeres tonight was immense, his work rate, the way he held the ball… fantastic”. pic.twitter.com/NT2Ynwy7YH

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 6, 2026

Arsenal have learned how to master the dark arts, and that makes them incredibly dangerous for whoever they face in Budapest.

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