The more Viktor Gyokeres talks, the more his masked goal celebration feels entirely fitting. The Swede is not a man who gives much away.
It is hard to tell whether he is being deliberately coy with the media or just relentlessly dull. Either way, you are rarely any the wiser as to what he is actually thinking.
It does, however, make him well-suited to the demands of a pre-match press conference. Facing the media ahead of tonight’s Champions League semi-final, there was no rallying cry or headline-worthy vignettes, just 16 minutes of banal chat delivered in a steady, almost hypnotic rhythm, seemingly designed to make those on the London Colney school chairs drift off.
“I think there’s a good feeling in the dressing room. I think we are very excited with every game that’s coming now, so it’s just to prepare and to show that energy on the pitch.”
A brace on Saturday saw Gyokeres move past the 20-goal mark for the season, a solid return for a player who has bounced between criticism and praise since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in the summer.
Asked about the challenge of settling at a new club, he explained:
“The biggest challenge is to adapt and come into a new routine, a new country, because you change everything in your life, to adapt to that is what you have to do quick, and be ready for all the challenges that are coming.
“When I score, and we win games, it’s a satisfaction and a great feeling, it’s a good feeling.
“I think of course you want to score goals so to reach that (21 goals) is of course a good thing, but the most important things are coming this month, so we have to do our job and see where it gets us.”
Put to him that he and his teammates could become club legends by finishing the season strongly and securing both the Premier League and Champions League, he said:
“Of course, it’s a great feeling if we can achieve that, but also to experience the position we’re in, and to play these kinds of games is what we know we’re going to do, and that’s great.”
Last week at the Metropolitano, Gyokeres smashed home a first-half penalty to give the Gunners a deserved lead, the 27th consecutive spot-kick he has converted for club and country. Of those playing in Europe’s top five leagues, only Harry Kane, with 30, has managed a better run since 2000. So what’s the secret?
“Don’t try to think too much and just put it in the back of the net,” he explained.
That answer was so on brand that it actually drew a couple of laughs. As did his “no comment” when asked if the team had been practising penalties in training, just in case the game is still level after 120 minutes.
More answers came and went. He said nice things about Bukayo Saka, who was “very good on Saturday”, nice things about William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes – “in training, you can’t get any better centre-backs than what we have – and nice things about fans doing his celebration, “incredible…only good vibes”.
And that was more or less that.
Is there more to Viktor than this? Honestly, who knows? And frankly, if he does his talking on the pitch in the next month, none of us will care either way.