Mikel Arteta has highlighted Viktor Gyokeres’ strong desire to join Arsenal as a key factor in his signing, emphasizing that the striker taking Thierry Henry’s legendary shirt number signifies his commitment to the club. Gyokeres completed a £63.5m transfer from Sporting CP last week and chose to wear the iconic No 14, despite the availability of other numbers.
Over the summer, Mikel Arteta has been impressed by the forward’s mindset. The 27-year-old recently took part in his first training sessions with Arsenal during their preseason trip in Asia.
“I use the word conviction and that’s the first thing that I noticed when I spoke to him,” Mikel Arteta said during a News Conference in Hong Kong. “Someone very determined, someone that was already really attached to the club [with] the way he was talking about the club, the history and in this case Thierry [Henry’s number] and what the shirt represented. He straight away felt it, and when you feel it – go for it.”
We’re going to assess [on Wednesday night] how he is and if the medical staff are happy as well with his condition to participate in tomorrow’s match, then it’s a possibility. We’re going to discuss that.”
In the same press conference, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard shared his impressions of Gyokeres, noting that the striker is already exhibiting his quality in training. Odegaard described his fellow Scandinavian teammate as a “very complete player.”
“I think you’ve all seen what he’s done in his career so far,” Odegaard remarked. “Especially the last season at Sporting, the numbers speak for themselves. He’s a very complete player. He’s physical, strong, fast, good finisher, and intelligent as well. I think he’s a very complete striker and you can also see the hunger, the energy he brings. I’m really excited to have him with the team. He’s only trained a few times, but you can already see the quality, the energy, and the willingness. I’m excited to have a pitch with him.”
In the opposing camp, new head coach Thomas Frank surprised some by labeling Arsenal as “one of the best teams in the world, unfortunately.” As he prepares for his first derby experience in Hong Kong, Frank said, “I think it’s a great challenge besides being our biggest rivals and the first North London Derby outside the UK. It’s also right now one of the best teams, I must say unfortunately, in the world. We also need to be honest. So in that way, it’s a big test but it’s more than a test against Arsenal. It’s not only a friendly, of course, and we’ll do everything we can to win.”
Responding to Frank’s comments, Mikel Arteta said, “Well, that’s great to hear that especially from someone like Frank that I respect immensely. And with him and Spurs, I think tomorrow we’re going to start to see the direction that he’s going to take with the team, implementing his vision, his philosophy. And of course, we need to be focused on what we want to do, what we want to achieve, and I’m sure it’s going to be a great game.”
