Arsenal star tells Mikel Arteta Viktor Gyokeres' strengths as Ruben Amorim's influence explained

Arsenal are preparing for yet another massive game in the context of their season as they take on Sporting in the Champions League tonight.

The Gunners were in bad form prior to the international break but they bounced back well on Saturday with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest. Arsenal's three points handed them a bit more breathing room in the top four but now Arteta's side must turn their attention to the Champions League.

A victory over Sporting will move them level on points with their opposition and likely back into the all-important top eight in the table. Ahead of the game, football.london has taken a closer look at the media headlines.

Raya warns Arteta about Gyokeres

All eyes shall be on Gyokeres this evening when he lines up for Sporting and goalkeeper David Raya is all too aware of the forward's talents. He told reporters: "We know his strengths, how he runs a lot in behind and scores a lot in one-v-one and he is a top player in form," the shot-stopper said.

"We are going to try and keep him very, very quiet. Don't give him any chances.

"We have to step up defensively. Hopefully we can do a great job and keep a clean sheet."

READ MORE: Arteta makes subtle swipe at City

READ MORE: Arteta finally receives injury boost

What FL says: As much as Arsenal fans will not want to see it, Gyokeres has the potential to cause them a lot of problems tonight. This is why the Gunners are linked with the striker. He offers his team pace, strength and an excellent finish. What more could a Premier League centre forward need? He passed the test against Manchester City last time out and Arsenal will hope they are not his latest victim. However whether they are or not, it should already be clear to the Gunners that Gyokeres is a man to look at in the transfer window.

Amorim's influence on Sporting

While he has now left for Manchester United, Ruben Amorim is still holding influence over the Portuguese club under their new head coach Joao Pereira. "Removing Sporting CP's identity would mean taking away the identity of the players, and taking away from them what they are used to doing," he said.

"We know that we won't be able to press the entire game all over the pitch, because it's difficult and you can't even do that in Portugal. There will be moments when the opponents will have more possession of the ball and we will have to close the spaces well and choose the right moment to break out from the pressure.

"We know very well that Arsenal are a team that will cause us problems, but we want to continue having good games and scoring a lot of goals."

What FL says: Any hope that United may have done Arsenal a favour by nicking Amorim before this game leaving them rudderless looks to have been short-lived. The Gunners are not facing a side tonight lacking direction. Pereira seems confident he can implement the style left by Amorim against a team of Arsenal's quality and that is a definite warning sign for Arteta. The North London club cannot underestimate Sporting especially when their Champions League future hangs in the balance. If anything, this game should give Arsenal good practice for their impending clash with United a week on Wednesday.

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.