armory Star Victor Gyckeres has played down any injury or fitness concerns after playing in Sweden's 2-2 draw with Greece on Thursday.
football scandal report comments More from his surprise appearance in the game today, considering he played in the Champions League final only a week ago.
from arsenal to sweden
Given the Gunners' run to the Champions League final, the Arsenal forward was expected to miss Sweden's friendly matches ahead of the World Cup. At least, he wasn't expected to start.
Instead, he started the game and scored after playing 63 minutes before being replaced by Graham Potter.
This came with its own risks as he was involved in a nerve-wracking moment when he was cut from behind in a scenario that could have had serious consequences. Luckily, he is fine and insists that everything is fine fitness-wise too.
"It's fun to come back and play with the guys again," he said.
"It feels good in my body, and I feel in good physical shape. So I thought it was good to get some match minutes in my legs. There's some time in the World Cup premiere. So, it might be needed."
world cup plans
Luckily for Sweden, the striker was in good form as he scored one of their two goals in a 2–2 draw. However, surprisingly his famous celebration was nowhere to be seen.
He admits it was a conscious decision. He's saving his trademark for the big World Cup games.
"I'm saving it for the World Cup," he said.
"I haven't done this whenever we've lost. It's happened before that I didn't do it then. And it was a friendly match too. But I can do it later in the hotel."
arsenal fest
The 28-year-old goes into the tournament on the back of a successful first season with Arsenal following his move from Sporting Club de Portugal last summer.
Although the goals may not have flowed as freely as they did in Portugal, he still finished the campaign with 21 in all competitions. And, crucially, also a Premier League title. For him, celebration is something he wants to experience again.
He concluded, "We didn't get many hours of sleep as we drove back to London. After the parade I was a little tired. But it was super fun to experience it."
"I got a tremendous amount of energy from all the fans. It was a special experience that I would love to do again."
