What Mikel Arteta did with Viktor Gyokeres before new Arsenal signing scored training wondergoal

21 hours ago 79

Viktor Gyokeres has already made quite the impression since having his transfer to Arsenal confirmed over 10 days ago. After weeks of talks, the Gunners and Sporting CP finally reached an agreement worth an initial €63.5million (£55million) plus a further €10million (£8.7million) in add-ons.

With the rest of his teammates out in Singapore, Gyokeres only began intense sessions alongside others recently and yet Mikel Arteta has hinted he could make his debut against Tottenham on Thursday. The 27-year-old has since spoken to reporters about Arteta and his lack of training thus far.

"Just try to use my qualities as much as I can," he said when asked about Arteta's first message. "But as you said, I haven't been here too long. I've only done one training session.

"I think I have to do a few more to come into it even more. So far it's been feeling great. I'm looking forward to doing even more."

That one training session appeared to go well with Gyokeres captured taking a smart touch inside before firing an effort into the far corner. Just prior to that, @TikiTakaConnor on X recorded Arteta speaking directly to Gyokeres with the duo seen exchanging hand gestures as the former appeared to explain the training drill in more detail.

Alongside that impact in training, a lofty impression has already seemingly been made on supporters by Gyokeres after he took the No.14 shirt made iconic by Thierry Henry. Asked specifically about that, Gyokeres revealed he was intent on making his own legacy.

" It's not really my intention to be compared with what he's achieved in his career," he admitted. "Especially here, I just want to do my own thing and show my qualities. Of course he was an amazing player, but different from me. I just want to try to do my own thing."

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The Gunners boss was also asked for his thoughts on Gyokeres' decision and his answer was telling. "I use the word conviction and that’s the first thing that I noticed when I spoke to him," he replied when informed Gyokeres did not seem concerned about the likely weight on his shoulders.

"Someone very determined, someone that was already really attached to the club the way he was talking about the club, the history and in this case Thierry [Henry] and what the shirt represented. He straight away felt it, and when you feel it - go for it.

Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023

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