Thierry Henry has urged Arsenal fans to be patient with Viktor Gyokeres. The striker arrived at the Emirates Stadium this summer from Sporting CP in a deal worth up to £63.5million.
And while many north Londoners will hope to see the 27-year-old hit the ground running, given his successes in Liga Portugal last term, Henry has warned that he may need some time to settle and click with his new team-mates. Speaking to Betway Insider, the 48-year-old said: "It’s always unfair because when I talk about a striker, it brings an unnecessary pressure, sometimes, because whenever I say something it goes above and beyond. What I would say about Gyokeres is that you saw his goal against Athletic Club the other day.
"That instinct and understanding to anticipate the cross, a great header with soft touch to guide it to the other side of the goal – he is a proper No. 9. That’s the goal of a nine. He is not a [Roberto] Firmino type of nine that’s going to drop into midfield.
"He wants to be in the box, in between the posts, and he said it himself – please put the ball in the box and serve me. You have a guy that’s a killer in the box – numbers don’t lie – and you have a team that create a lot of chances, so it should be the perfect match, but you have to also understand that sometimes it doesn’t click straight away.
"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."
After making his way to north London last month, Gyokeres has already impressed in pre-season, netting his first goal for the club in a 3-0 win over Athletic Club in the Emirates Cup. Many fans will be excited to see what the Swede is capable of first hand, given his incredible track record with Sporting last season which saw him score 54 goals across all competitions on the way to winning a league title and Taca de Portugal double.
No stranger to the trials and tribulations of English football, Gyokeres' last stint in the country saw him play for Coventry City in the EFL Championship between 2021 and 2023, where he managed 43 goals and 17 assists before moving on to Sporting. However, given that he has never played in the Premier League, questions still surround whether the star will be able to cut it against the stiffest competition that the top flight has to offer.
Gyokeres has the chance to put those doubts to bed immediately as Arsenal travel to Old Trafford on Sunday to face Manchester United in their Premier League opener, with Mikel Arteta keen to kickstart a fresh season on the front foot.