Thierry Henry has given his honest view on Viktor Gyokeres after Arsenal spent £64million to make him their leading striker.
Gyokeres arrives with a sizzling reputation after scoring 97 goals and providing 28 assists in two seasons with Sporting Lisbon – but the Premier League is a different beast.
The Swedish marksman made a faint impression when he was at Brighton – only earning eight outings in four seasons and being constantly farmed out on loan – but is remembered by Coventry City fans for his prolific net-busting in the Championship.
Now he is back on English turf, and as is custom for anyone who signs for one of his alma mater, Henry has been asked to weigh in. It also sends a strong message that Gyokeres has taken Henry’s old number: 14.
The Frenchman is arguably the most legendary striker in Arsenal’s history and his words have the power to influence fan sentiment.
He said: ‘He already was in England, let’s not forget that. He was at Coventry, he couldn’t do it at Brighton.
Viktor Gyokeres is a ‘killer in the box’, ‘confident’ and physically strong, says Thierry Henry
The Arsenal legend does not want to pile pressure on Gyokeres but thinks the striker is a ‘great match’ for the Gunners
‘So, you can see a guy who already knows what struggling is and comes back from that.
‘He’s more confident, and you can see from his body the way he’s looked after himself, the way he’s changed.
‘You have a guy that’s a killer in the box – numbers don’t lie – and you have a team that creates a lot of chances, so it should be the perfect match.
‘It’s always unfair when I talk about a striker, it brings an unnecessary pressure because it goes above and beyond.
‘What you want is people to be patient with him, and what is annoying right now is that people are not that patient anymore.
‘They want the guy to perform straight away, score goals straight away and make us win straight away, which doesn’t happen often. Sometimes it doesn’t click straight away.
‘I love when people show me what they can do, and then I can talk. Right now, people love to talk before the performance.
‘I’m an Arsenal fan, I obviously hope he’s going to do well, bang goals for us, and guide us to a title, but he’s not going to do that alone.
Arsenal signed Gyokeres for £64m from Sporting Lisbon to end a long-running transfer saga
‘We have seen that goals don’t always assure you a title. We’ve seen guys with mad numbers, but they didn’t win anything. The team around them has to be good.
‘From what I’ve seen from him and how he finishes, hopefully it’s going to be a great match and we can finally go back to lift that trophy. But, a lot of teams want to lift that.’
Gyokeres has hit the ground running with the Gunners, scoring on his second friendly outing in a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao in the Emirates Cup final.
He is the first top out-and-out striker they have had since the 2021-22 season, when they were serviced up front by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
Mail Sport’s Arsenal reporter Isaan Khan watched back all of Gyokeres’ goals from last season, and you can read his take on whether he will be the right fit here.
