Arsenal’s Gyokeres ‘Hungry’ To Build On Champions League Double

Following Tuesday’s impressive performance against Atletico Madrid, Viktor Gyokeres says he is eager to respond to manager Mikel Arteta’s request to bring his goal-scoring momentum into the Premier League.

In Arsenal’s 4-0 victory over Atletico in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium, attacker Gyokeres scored twice to end a seven-game losing streak with a goal.

Following his £58 million ($77 million) transfer from Sporting Lisbon, where he scored 97 goals in 102 appearances, the 27-year-old scored five goals for the Gunners.

With Arsenal back in domestic action against London rivals Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Sunday, Gunners boss Arteta vowed to keep the goals coming.

Gyokeres claimed, “I’m more hungry now.” You always want to contribute with work rates and other things, but it’s a little special when you also score goals. Therefore, I have a strong desire to do that.

The spirit of the group and the spirit of the group are very special and unique.

When you deliver these performances in victories, it instills confidence in the team. Although the belief must always exist, it does so naturally. We simply want this to continue.

As many clean sheets have Arsenal managed to collect in their three European games so far this season.

In their first 12 games, they have conceded just three goals, just one of which came from open play, to champions Liverpool and Newcastle at home and Manchester City at home.

David Raya, the goalkeeper for Arsenal, said: “I give clean sheets the same credit as goals.

It will make games easier to win if we keep clean sheets. Being extremely strong and not giving away too many chances is really, really important for the entire team.

“The depth of the squad is incredible. Numerous players can play two, three, or four positions, which is a good thing.

The manager has a variety of options when it comes to playing as a striker (versus Atletico), and he is using it to his advantage.

Everyone is in favor of that, and it gives us an extra level in both in training and in games because if we don’t practice, we can lose our seats.

Premier League leaders Arsenal will lead Manchester City by three points heading into this weekend’s group of matches.

Liverpool are a further point in the opposite direction.

Newcastle Thrash Mourinho’s Benfica In Champions League

With a 3-0 win at St. James’ Park, Newcastle inflicted more Champions League pain on Jose Mourinho’s Benfica with the debut of Harvey Barnes.

As Benfica continue to struggle in Europe’s elite competition this season, Anthony Gordon fired the Magpies in front.

With two composed right-footed finishes, Newcastle were well on the verge of qualifying for the league phase, which was introduced just after the hour mark.

On October 21, 2025, Newcastle United’s English midfielder #10 Anthony Gordon celebrates scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League game between Newcastle United and Benfica at St James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north of England. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP)

In their opening game, Eddie Howe’s men won two games, including a 4-0 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise, following a defeat to Barcelona in the previous one.

In the Champions League standings, Newcastle moves up above Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Mourinho, who respects his mentor and former Newcastle boss Bobby Robson, who is embodied in a statue at St. James’ Park, admitted to being a “little Magpie” to Portuguese press last month.

Robson used Mourinho as a translator at Sporting Lisbon, Porto, and Barcelona to give him a break while he was coaching.

Robson requested the Portuguese work for him as an assistant manager at Newcastle in 1999, but Mourinho turned down the opportunity to take over as manager following his successful debut at&nbsp, Benfica.

Mourinho’s Chelsea resumption last month saw the Portuguese giants lose 1-0.

READ ALSO: Champions PSG vs. Leverkusen 7-2 in the Champions League

On October 21, 2025, Newcastle United’s Brazilian midfielder #39 Bruno Guimaraes (R) shoots but falls short in the English Premier League game between Newcastle United and Benfica at St James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north of England. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP)

Benfica are the only team to have lost three of their three Champions League games this season, but they were left disappointed that they didn’t create more chances in the first half.

Dodi Lukebakio was a constant threat to visitors down the road.

Before Lukebakio’s curling effort from long range crashed off the post, the Belgium winger forced Nick Pope into a brilliant save at his near post.

The hosts, however, made the 32-minute breakthrough.

Jacob Murphy’s low cross was played in by Bruno Guimaraes down the right, and Gordon converted it for his third Champions League goal this season.

When Lewis Miley headed over from a corner completely unmarked, Newcastle should have increased their lead.

Antonio Silva fouled Barnes, who had already sped clear, before firing low and hard into the far corner, who was given the assist for the second goal.

Seven minutes into Newcastle’s Premier League goalscoring woes were put to one side by Gordon’s put-ahead goal. Barnes was followed by another composed finish.

To place 14th in the table, Howe’s team has only seven goals in its eight league games.

However, they could contend for a top-eight place finish in the Champions League to automatically advance to the last 16 after games against Athletic Bilbao, Marseille, Bayer Leverkusen, and PSV before a difficult final-night stopover of reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain.

UCL: Champions PSG Hammer Leverkusen 7-2

As both teams finished with 10 men in the Champions League on Tuesday, defending champions Paris Saint-Germain defeated Bayer Leverkusen 7-2 on their return from injury.

Dembele, who had made his first appearance since early September with a hamstring injury, made his debut just three minutes after being substituted for PSG’s sixth.

Willian Pacho, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes, and Vitinha also scored as the visitors played down the slack at Leverkusen’s BayArena while Desire Doue and Vitinha also netted.

On October 21, 2025, Paris Saint-Germain’s French midfielder #14 Desire Doue celebrates scoring the 1-4 goal with his teammates at the BayArena stadium in Leverkusen, western Germany’s BayArena stadium. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP photo)

“We are a team that always aspires to succeed,” said the coach. We want to win everything over once more this year, according to PSG coach Luis Enrique.

“We will have to work hard, but we still have confidence,” he said. This title needs to be reclaimed.

Illia Zabarnyi was sent off for PSG in the 37th minute for a second spot kick of the match, but Aleix Garcia scored both of the hosts’ goals.

Robert Andrich was also dismissed from Leverkusen after he had just slammed his elbow against Doue.

[READ ALSO] [/READ], High-flying Arsenal crush Atletico Madrid As Gyokeres Ends Goal Drought

On October 21, 2025, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) play at the BayArena stadium in Leverkusen, western Germany, France’s French forward #10 Ousmane Dembele instructs Paris Saint-Germain’s #29 Bradley Barcola. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP)

Kasper Hjulmand, the coach for Leverkusen, claimed that his team “lost it in seven minutes before halftime.”

He continued, “We were level, but we wanted too much.” In that seven-minute period, we made too many errors and were too open.

We have the world’s best team at the moment. They are very strong.

PSG have struggled with injuries and inconsistent play this year, but once both teams were reduced to ten men, they won the game.

PSG’s attempt to compete for second place in Europe will face more difficult challenges than Leverkusen’s rebuilding team, which only had six starters who had just signed for the club in the summer.

The French champions displayed both their formidable wealth and the strength needed to overcome setbacks brought on by the breakthrough campaign from the previous year.

Dembele begins with a bench position.

On October 21, 2025, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) play at the BayArena stadium in Leverkusen, western Germany, with Portugal’s #17 Vitinha celebrating scoring his team’s seventh goal with #10 Ousmane Dembele. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER/AFP)

The announcement that Dembele and Marquinhos were fit enough to travel to Germany boosted PSG’s preparation for the game.

The pair, who had a crucial role in PSG’s barnstorming treble last season, watched from the bench as PSG took the lead after just seven minutes.

For Pacho to head in from the far post, Mendes crosses over the Leverkusen defense.

With 25 minutes left, Alejandro Grimaldo hit the post with his spot kick, which earned Leverkusen a penalty for a Zabarnyi handball.

When Andrich’s needless foul on Doue on 33 minutes reduced Leverkusen to 10 men, the writing was on the wall.

However, shortly afterward, Zabarnyi’s performance went from bad to nightmare, with Garcia scoring from the spot and seeing red for clumsily downing Christian Kofane.

The French side reacted by scoring three goals in eight minutes to stun the hosts instead of reacting with a tighter red card.

To enter the break 4-1 up and cruising, Doue scored twice on either side of a Kvaratskhelia scorcher.

Five minutes into the second half, Mendes scored to give PSG a start.

PSG had the final word, despite Garcia’s 54-minute long, all-time Leverkusen triumph.

Dembele scored the winning goal from a close angle, and Vitinha finished the game with even more gloss, completing an incredible European night for the defending champions.

Haaland Scores Again As Man City Beat Villarreal

Manchester City defeated Villarreal 2-0 on Tuesday to maintain their excellent goalscoring run.

With their victory at the Estadio de la Ceramica, which was secured by first-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Haaland, Pep Guardiola’s side remained unbeaten in the league.

Haaland, a Norwegian target player, has scored 22 goals in those 12 games for the club and nation in each of his 12 previous appearances.

Phil Foden was left out of Guardiola’s starting lineup after City won 2-0 against Everton at the weekend to end a year without a win on the road in Europe.

As City took control of the match and began to find gaps in Villarreal’s defense, with Savinho looking confident, Haaland headed a Silva cross wide.

After 17 minutes, Rico Lewis cut the ball back in a clever move for the striker to fire home from six yards out.

On October 21, 2025, Manchester City’s Norwegian forward #9 Erling Braut Haaland celebrates with his team’s first goal at Villarreal CF’s La Ceramica Stadium in Vila-real as English defender #82 Rico Lewis scores the winning goal in the UEFA Champions League league phase day 3 game. (Photo by Javier SORIANO/AFP)

Third-placed Spanish side Villarreal started to establish themselves in the competition, but City was able to squander their lead before half-time to sabotage their lead.

To effectively seal the game, Savinho crossed for the unmarked Silva to nod past Brazilian stopper Luis Junior.

One of the few negative things the visitors have lost so far in the season was midfielder Nico Gonzalez, who was also sidelined.

The English side continued to dominate until Villarreal threatened in the final 20 minutes.

[UCL] High-flying Arsenal crush Atletico Madrid As Gyokeres End Goal Drought

At the UEFA Champions League Division 3 football game between Villarreal CF and Manchester City at La Ceramica Stadium in Vila-real on October 21, 2025, Ivorian forward #19 Nicolas Pepe squares off against Italian goalkeeper #25 Gianluigi Donnarumma. (Photo by Jose JORDAN/AFP)

Gianluigi Donnarumma, the city goalkeeper, saved Nicola Pepe’s drive before heading wide.

Pepe also volleyed over for City, who were able to oust the visitors.

Luiz Junior was successful in fielding Haaland’s fierce strike at the other end.

The 25-year-old Norwegian was depressed once more and was limited to just one goal, which is no mean feat.

Omar Marmoush made his first appearance for the club since August with a knee injury and five minutes left.

In the final stages, Villarreal almost opened the scoring with Renato Veiga’s header, which left Donnarumma stranded in the spot but hit the post and popped out.

At the conclusion of Villarreal FC’s Champions League Division 3 game against Manchester City at La Ceramica Stadium in Vila-real on October 21, 2025, Villarreal’s players greet the fans. City won with a 2-0 lead. (Photo by JAVIER SORIANO/AFP)

With just one point from their first three matches this season, Marcelino Garcia Toral’s side have yet to win in Europe.

UCL: High-Flying Arsenal Crush Atletico Madrid As Gyokeres Ends Goal Drought

In the second half of Arsenal’s perfect Champions League debut on Tuesday, Victor Gyokeres scored twice as they defeated Atletico Madrid 4-0 to extend their perfect start.

Before Gyokeres’ nine-game goal drought was ended in a 13-minute period either side of the hour mark, Gabriel Magalhaes and Gabriel Martinelli opened the floodgates.

The Premier League leaders are also sitting comfortably at the top of the table, just two points clear of Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan from their opening three games, with the only other team to have earned nine points from those three games.

In a stunning campaign for the Gunners, Mikel Arteta’s lack of goals was one of the players’ concerns.

On October 21, 2025, during the UEFA Champions League football game between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, Sweden’s #14 Viktor Gyokeres (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring their fourth goal at the Arsenal Stadium in north London. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP)

In his 11 previous appearances, the Swede had only scored three goals in home games against Leeds and Nottingham Forest, ending Arsenal’s lack of a clinical number nine.

Diego Simeone will be concerned about Atletico’s continued lack of a win away from home this season and how the Spanish side collapsed following a competitive opening.

With yet another clean sheet this season, Arsenal has only conceded three of its own in all competitions.

Julian Alvarez missed a chance to lead the visitors in the first half thanks to a poor David Raya clearance, which he missed twice, before hitting the ball from outside the box shortly after half-time.

Champions PSG defeats Leverkusen 7-2 in the Champions League READ ALSO.

On October 21, 2025, Arsenal’s Brazilian midfielder #11 Gabriel Martinelli (R) celebrates after scoring their second goal in the UEFA Champions League game between the teams of Arsenal and Atletico Madrid at the Arsenal Stadium in north London. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP)

Arsenal’s best attempt of the first 45 minutes was Eberechi Eze’s deflected effort, which also fell off the woodwork.

However, Arteta’s men were able to rely on their strength from set pieces, as they have frequently done in recent years, to achieve the breakthrough.

The stooping Gabriel tapped a header into the bottom corner after Declan Rice’s in-swinging free kick was perfectly weighted.

Only two of Arteta’s changes to left-back Myles Lewis Skelly came on Saturday, when they won 1-0 at Fulham.

The England international has played second fiddle to Riccardo Calafiori most of the season, but his driving run helped Arteta open the door to a second goal.

Martinelli scored his third goal in as many Champions League games by curling into the far corner after Lewis Skelly had picked him out.

When Gyokeres’ shot from close range deflected off David Hancko, giving Jan Oblak a little hope, he finally received the fortune he needed to end his miserable spell in front of goal.

After Gabriel once more headed the first header into Rice’s corner, Gyokeres converted from even closer to the goal three minutes later.

On October 21, 2025, Arsenal’s Swedish striker #14 Viktor Gyokeres (3L) scores their third goal in the UEFA Champions League game between Arsenal and Atletico Madrid at the North London venue. (Photo by Ben Stansall/AFP)

With a focus on Crystal Palace’s Premier League trip on Sunday, Arteta could afford the luxury of reserving Gabriel, Gyokeres, Eze, Jurrien Timber, and Martin Zubimendi in the dying stages.

For the first time since 2009, Arsenal reached the semi-finals, but they lost to PSG, who had become the eventual champion.

After another significant summer of significant transfer spending, the Gunners’ quest to conquer Europe for the first time in club history makes them even stronger.

Only three points have been scored in Atletico’s first three games, compared to their previous defeat at Liverpool last month.

UCL: Lopez, Rashford On Fire As Barca Rout Olympiacos 6-1

In a 6-1 win over Olympiacos on Tuesday, Fermin Lopez scored a hat-trick and Marcus Rashford scored twice to put Barcelona back on course for the Champions League.

Lamine Yamal, a teen star, was also on target for Hansi Flick’s side, who had previously faced Paris Saint-Germain in their previous European match.

Ayoub El Kaabi scored a penalty saver for the Greek champions after Lopez double, but Santiago Hezze’s red card made it possible for the injured-hit Barcelona to record a high scoreline and place them temporarily in third place.

Without Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and other regulars, Flick’s team was unable to win the game’s opener against Real Madrid on Sunday in La Liga.

After scoring his treble, Lopez told Movistar, “We needed a win like that, we ended it feeling good and now consider the Clasico.”

“I’m appreciative of the team and want to keep this dynamic.”

In a tight Catalan derby, Barcelona almost lost ground right away against the Greeks despite just squandering a win over Girona on Saturday.

Wojciech Szczesny, a veteran goalkeeper, had to get down well to deny Daniel Podence after Alejandro Balde gave the ball away.

Balde quickly made amends in the attack as Barca carved out a new opening for the visitors thanks to his driving performances.

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On October 21, 2025, FC Barcelona and Olympiakos FC’s UEFA Champions League match-day 3 football match between the English national #14 Marcus Rashford (R) celebrate after scoring a goal at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona. (Photo by AFP photographer MANAURE QUINTERO)

After Dro Fernandez and Balde connected on the left, Rashford volleyed narrowly over.

Balde was back in action as Barca jumped out to a lead and fed Lopez, who had played Yamal.

Konstantinos Tzolakis, the teenage winger, was on hand to bundle the loose ball home.

Barca controlled the game thanks to Rashford’s free kick into the side-netting, but their lack of defensive focus has been a constant issue this season.

Their lapses in concentration are concerning because Sunday’s Clasico is beckoning.

Olympiacos lifeline was short-lived.

At the UEFA Champions League match-day 3 football match between FC Barcelona and Olympiakos FC at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in Barcelona on October 21, 2025, Barcelona’s Spanish defender #24 Eric Garcia (C) and Barcelona’s French defender #23 Jules Kounde (CL) hit a header. (Photo by Josep LAGO/AFP)

After being played in by Dro on his Champions League debut, Lopez scored his second after 39 minutes.

The midfielder almost scored his hat-trick in the opening period of the second half, but Tzolakis whipped his header past the post from Yamal’s cross.

Moroccan striker El Kaabi gave the Olympiacos a commanding lead into the second half.

The forward headed home after Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia got the ball, but Garcia gave Olympiacos a penalty for handball.

El Kaabi slotted past Szczesny to give his team a chance, but their chances vanished as a result.

After making an appearance that appeared innocent, Barca’s Marc Casado hit Hezze, who received a harsh second yellow card, to the ground.

After tumbling under Tzolakis’ challenge, Rashford won a penalty and Yamal sent the wrong way to give Barca a 68-minute lead.

Rashford scored two goals in six minutes for the Catalans as they ran out of steam while on loan from Manchester United.

After scoring twice in their win at Newcastle, Rashford twice overcame Tzolakis with clinical low near-post finishes to score four goals in the Champions League this year.