Not enough to just score! Mikel Arteta urges "Jokerees" to elevate his all-around performance.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's manager, encouraged Victor Jokerees to maintain consistent performance standards and showcase his full potential, even though the Swedish striker had just ended his goal drought with a crucial goal in Arsenal's 3-2 win over Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Previously, Jokerees had endured a dry spell of 10 consecutive matches without scoring from open play before heading in a cross from Ben White to find the net. He also provided an assist in the same match, earning him the Man of the Match award.
However, Arteta emphasized that scoring goals is only a fundamental expectation for Arsenal's forwards and the team wants to see more from them.
“We expect him to score goals, and we want more than that. Victor excelled in many areas, and today he showed what I consider his best quality—that is putting the ball in the net. He was well positioned multiple times, the ball came to the right areas, and he did what needed to be done.”
“Overall, I think he played very well. What he contributes to the team is a lot. I understand some people may not see it, but our club clearly does, and he was rewarded with a goal.”
This season, Jokerees has scored 8 goals in 25 appearances across all competitions. Although this is far from his previous season’s tally of 54 goals with Sporting Lisbon, teammates and coaching staff remain confident that the striker has the potential to improve his performance and continue being a key asset for the "Gunners" for the rest of the season.