Victor Goqueres celebrates with Gabriel Magalhães after the win between Arsenal and Atlético Madrid (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has praised Victor Goqueres’ improved form in recent games after a particularly strong performance in last night’s Champions League semi-final.
The Sweden international scored twice against Fulham at the weekend, and although he didn’t score against Atletico Madrid, he worked tirelessly all night and proved he is a real asset to Diego Simeone’s side.
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Henry admits he has been critical of Goqueres in the past, but now feels the former Sporting Lisbon man is proving himself and other critics wrong by becoming a true No. 9 that opponents fear.
See below for Henry’s analysis…
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Thierry Henry talks about Victor Gokeres
Discussing Gokeres, Henry said:
“If you’re not playing well, I’ll say you’re not playing well. Take Gokeres, for example, the jury was against him for a very long time.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Just accept it and try to prove people wrong. He did that tonight, not just tonight, but last month as well.”
“I give him credit. He’s running, he’s solid, he’s a bit like a No. 9, which you should be scared of.”
The Frenchman also praised Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and his players for seeming to be better able to adapt to Gokeres by finding him early and working to get the best out of him.
A look at Victor Goqueres’ first season at Arsenal in numbers
| Gokeres statistics | game | the goal | assist |
| Arsenal 2025/26 | 51 | twenty one | 3 |
Gokeres was an absolute goal machine for his former club Sporting, but he didn’t always look that convincing even in the red and white shirt.
Still, the 27-year-old has scored an impressive 21 goals in 51 games in all competitions, not bad considering it’s his first season with a new club in a new league.
Gokeres also scored five goals in the Champions League, helping the Gunners reach the final for the second time in their history.
