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Viktor Gyokeres insists any anxiety creeping in as Arsenal battle to win both the Premier League and Champions League is only a good thing. The experience of the former Sporting striker, who claimed back-to-back titles in Portugal, will prove vital to the Gunners as we approach the closing stages of the 2025/26 campaign. Gyokeres has led the line in Arsenal's pursuit of their ultimate objective throughout most of the season.

And the Swede has now called upon his team-mates to maintain concentration and their joy during the title run-in despite the burden of ambition and expectation upon them. Speaking exclusively to football.london, Gyokeres outlined what's required mentally to claim a league title - and says it's key the players do not think about the end goal too much and just focus on enjoying the process instead. "You have to be so focused every game and take every game as seriously as you can, no matter who you play. All the points that you get count in the end," the 27-year-old said.

"You have to think like that, but also not to get too frustrated if it doesn't go your way because it's always a long season and there's still a lot to play for. Even now, when we're in April, there's a lot of games still to play, we just have to focus on doing our job and to enjoy it.

"Not think too much about what can happen or how the end result is going to be. I think the most important thing is to play football and to enjoy it on the pitch."

As a collective, Arsenal have come under considerable scrutiny, with early exits from both the League Cup and FA Cup only intensifying the pressure. Talk of nerves running through the squad, resulting in tightly-wound performances, has dominated much of the mainstream conversation surrounding the Gunners.

Some players might brush off such suggestions, even if those nerves genuinely exist, because they fear it conveys a sense of vulnerability. Not Gyokeres.

For the Swede, nerves only become a problem if you allow them to spiral. Nerves are a fundamentally human trait, and rather than signalling fear, they demonstrate just how passionately someone cares, much like this Arsenal side's burning desire to claim the Premier League title.

"I think if you feel nerves, I think it means that it matters for you," he stated. "I think it's not bad if you take it in the right way and you put that energy in the right direction.

"So to have nerves, I think it's not a bad thing. It's just bad if you convert it into something negative, and it depends on how you handle those emotions."

Significant efforts were made during the summer to bolster the Arsenal squad. Mikel Arteta sought at least two strong contenders for every position, with Gyokeres joining Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus as the centre-forward choices.

Yet alongside this wealth of quality came a keen focus on winning experience. Martin Zubimendi, a Copa del Rey winner with Real Sociedad, Eberechi Eze, an FA Cup winner with Crystal Palace, and Piero Hincapie, an unbeaten Bundesliga title-holder, all made the move to the club.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, a multiple cup-winning goalkeeper, and Noni Madueke, a UEFA Conference League winner and member of the Chelsea side that would subsequently claim the Club World Cup, also put pen to paper. These seasoned winners will undoubtedly prove invaluable to those in the squad who have fallen short in recent campaigns.

But while Gyokeres acknowledges that differing mindsets and perspectives carry weight, every player must share the same goal - to lift silverware.

"Every player has different experiences through their careers and different feelings about the same situations," he said. "I think it's always important to come with a different mindset sometimes and to look at it in a different way.

"But with the same intentions as everyone else in the club, and together with everyone. We have a lot of players in the team who have won trophies, and that's what we want to do again this season."

It isn't just players making an impact, however. Gabriel Heinze joined the coaching setup during the summer, shortly before the £63.5million striker's arrival, bringing his own wealth of winning experience with him.

A Premier League, Ligue 1 and La Liga champion during his playing days, the Argentine understands precisely what it takes to triumph. With the Gunners boasting the finest attacking and defensive record in the top flight this season, his contribution is evident, and despite operating at the opposite end of the pitch to Heinze's primary focus, Gyokeres outlined his value.

"I think he brings a lot of good energy into the group," Gyokeres said. "He has a good drive in him, and I think that spreads throughout the group. A lot of experience as a player as well. He brings a lot."

Arteta has taken countless players under his wing as Arsenal manager, striving to extract the very best from them while nurturing their development. The likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Jurrien Timber have been moulded from a young age and now rank amongst the finest in the world in their respective positions.

Even those who arrived at the club later in their careers, including Havertz, David Raya, Declan Rice, Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard, have progressed considerably. Gyokeres falls into the latter category, and while he remains very much a newcomer with limited exposure to his new manager, he acknowledges being introduced to a wealth of fresh ideas, with a clear, comprehensive and personalised development programme in place for players on a daily basis.

"It's been very interesting," he said. "A lot of new things, you learn a lot every day here. So, in that sense, it's great. He tries to improve us every day, individually and as a team. I just try to be the best I can in training and in the games. Go forward as a player and as a team."

Gyokeres has struck 17 goals across all competitions this season, six ahead of the next highest scorer in the squad. Despite enduring testing spells, Arteta spoke in October when the striker had merely three goals to his name, about the qualities he sought in the player.

"I told him, before the first meeting, the [number] nine that I want is a nine that when he doesn't score for six or eight games, he can handle that," Arteta said. "If not, we have to go somewhere else.

"Because the pressure, the expectation is going to be there so if you put on the number nine shirt for Arsenal, you have to be able to say, 'six games, don't score, am I a different player? And start to act in a different way.

"I want much more of the same of what he's doing and yeah, when we have to opportunities [put them away]. I am sure he is going to do it."

Gyokeres is a composed individual, brimming with self-belief in his own abilities. When quizzed about Arteta's remarks, it was evident that he places great value on contributing to the team, with securing victory the ultimate priority, regardless of the personal satisfaction that comes with finding the net.

"It's always the best feeling if we win games and I score as many goals as I can in the game, that's the best feeling as a striker, no matter what anyone says," the Sweden international said. "I think everyone who plays as a nine wants that, but then that's not the reality.

"You're going to have games where you don't score, maybe you didn't get the chances, or you didn't take them. Just stay focused and be ready because it's going to come. And when it comes, you have to be ready."