Alan Shearer singled out ‘exceptional’ Viktor Gyokeres for praise after Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid to achieve the Champions League final.
The semi-final tie was perfectly poised after a 1-1 attract Madrid last week and little separated the edges on the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
Bukayo Saka produced the defining moment, reacting first to a Jan Oblak save to prod home the decisive goal and send Arsenal to Budapest.
Shearer admitted Arsenal were removed from at their best on a cagey night in north London but was impressed with their battling spirit against Diego Simeone’s Atletico.
Premier League record goalscorer Shearer was particularly impressed by the performance of striker Gyokeres, who gave the Atletico centre-backs all types of problems and played a task in Arsenal’s winner.
Gyokeres, who joined Arsenal for £64m last summer, did miss a wonderful probability to place the tie to bed but Shearer was nevertheless still impressed by the Sweden international.
‘Apart that miss his centre forward play has been superb,’ England legend Shearer said on Prime Video.
‘His running off the ball, his delay play for his team, taking knocks all night and making runs… he really has been exceptional.
‘It’s exactly the form of performance his team needed from him and something to construct on. He offered Arsenal a lot tonight.’
Discussing Arsenal’s victory more generally, Shearer added: ‘It wasn’t a vintage performance however it didn’t need to be.
‘It needed to be a performance to get them to a Champions League and that’s exactly what they delivered.
‘They’d to fight and scrap for every ball tonight and once they got the possibility to rating they did. That was enough to get them through to the ultimate, so well done Arsenal.
‘They’re so close to creating history now, they’ve one final and three league games to do something this club has never done and win an incredible double.
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‘It’s a really, very promising position and it will do so much for his or her confidence and belief.’
Gyokeres also attracted praise from ex-England striker Daniel Sturridge, who hailed the 27-year-old as the perfect player on the pitch.
‘The drive and tenacity of the players [is what impressed most],’ Sturridge said. ‘Lewis-Skelly was good, controlling pace and the play.
‘But Gyokeres was the perfect player tonight for me. He took a lot pressure off the defenders, while you launch it up top pondering can it stick, are you able to hold it up for us?
‘He did all of it for them. Those are the performances that outline top players.’
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will face Bayern Munich or holders PSG within the Champions League final on May 30.
PSG boast a one-goal advantage ahead of the second leg against Bayern on Wednesday night after an exciting 5-4 win in Paris last week.
The Gunners could have clinched their first Premier League title since 2004 before that, boasting a five-point lead over Manchester City going into the ultimate few weeks of the season.
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