Victor Lindelof Explains What Makes Viktor Gyokeres So Tough to Face

Victor Lindelof believes Viktor Gyokeres' intelligence and use of his body are two of the qualities which make him such a difficult striker to defend against.

Gyokeres heads into Sweden's final Nations League meeting of the international break, this time against Romania, having already set a new competition record for scoring in consecutive games. His goals have been one of the stories of the international window, but the conversation around him at Sweden's pre-match press conference moved in a different direction.

Speaking at Sweden's pre-match press conference, Lindelof had been discussing the refereeing in Sweden's draw with Bosnia when he was asked whether officials give Gyokeres enough protection. The question followed previous comments from the Arsenal striker about decisions he felt were not going his way.

Lindelof is well placed to see both sides of the striker. The Aston Villa defender has spent several years alongside Gyokeres within Sweden's national team, while his own career at centre-back means he also understands what defenders have to deal with when they get tight to a physical centre-forward.

He accepted that attackers can sometimes win soft free-kicks, but said defenders are forced close to the limit of what is allowed in the game when they have to face Gyokeres.

“Of course I want him to get every free-kick he can when we're playing for the national team. But I think it's difficult to find the balance sometimes. Forwards can get some easy ones, and I'm a defender, so you can get some easy free-kicks and things like that.

“But I think with the way he works, defenders always have to be right on the limit of what is allowed and what isn't because he is so smart and so good at how he uses his body.

“I think he could get a few more free-kicks. Absolutely.”

Gyokeres and Lindelof have been Sweden teammates for several years, giving the defender a close view of his development at international level. The Arsenal forward has become one of Sweden's main attacking threats, with his latest scoring run further strengthening that status.

The goals naturally draw most of the attention for the striker, but Gyokeres' game also asks defenders to deal with him before he gets near the penalty area, bringing teammates into the game. Lindelof singled out the way he uses his body and the intelligence behind it rather than reducing the challenge to strength alone.

The Aston Villa defender was then asked whether those physical battles ever made him concerned about Gyokeres picking up an injury. He said most of the contact came in the initial duels for longer balls rather than from particularly heavy tackles.

“No, it's mostly those first contacts. It's not so much sliding tackles or really hard tackles in that way, but it's those first longer balls where you go up and fight for it.

“Of course I hope he can stay healthy, but he's quite strong and I think he can handle those knocks.”

Those moments are part of the job for a centre-forward, and Lindelof expects Gyokeres to cope with them describing the Arsenal striker as strong enough to deal with the knocks rather than someone Sweden need to protect from every challenge.

Romania will be the next side trying to contain him. Gyokeres has a chance to extend his record-breaking Nations League scoring run after already making competition history during this international window.