“Having witnessed what he was doing in training today, I wept for all Premier League defenders because he left them hopeless with three things”: Arsenal’s winger Bukayo Saka names ONE Gunners new signings who’s giving the team what they’ve never seen before

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Arsenal fans will no doubt be buzzing to hear what one of Viktor Gyokeres’ teammates at Coventry City has said about the Gunners newcomer’s training habits.

Arsenal agreed a £64million deal for Gyokeres with Portuguese side Sporting CP after weeks of negotiations, and the Swede is now at N5.

The 27-year-old also spoke of how strong Gyokeres was when the two had a coming together in training, and explained how he absolutely despised losing.

“When he came (on loan), he was in and out of the team and showed glimpses of quality,” said Sheaf, who captains Coventry.

“He signed permanently after the first loan, and he came back having put more muscle on and was even more physical.

“He was relentless with how much he practised. He’d do a lot of finishing drills after training.

“I remember once in training, we did 11-v-11, and the ball got thrown into him when I was playing against him.

“He pinned and rolled me, and I just couldn’t do anything about it.

“That was the first time I remember thinking: ‘Blimey, this is what opposition teams are going to feel’. That was the first time I felt his physicality.

“He was always ultra-competitive in training. He’d throw his toys out of the pram if we didn’t win a small-sided game.”

“He was our main man,” continued Sheaf. “He could run in behind, hold the ball up and was so physical. The way we played was probably based around his attributes.

“We loved having the ball, but at times we could sit in deep and know we’ve got him on the counter to drag us up the pitch.

“He’s a serious guy until you get to know him and he opens up.

He’s a good lad but he’d be arguing in training, always wanting to win and doing finishing drills after – absolutely t——- balls in.”

Sheaf was on loan at Coventry from Arsenal during the 2020/21 season, with Gyokeres joining on loan in the second half of the campaign.

Both players then joined the Sky Blues permanently in the summer of 2021, with Gyokeres moving on to Sporting in 2023.

The first teams set to be up against Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres

As mentioned above, Gyokeres is in line to feature against Tottenham in the first North London derby set to take place outside the United Kingdom.

Arsenal face Spurs in Hong Kong on Thursday 31 July, 12:30pm BST kick-off.

Gunners fans are then set to see Gyokeres at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday 6 August when Arsenal take on Villarreal in a 6pm BST kick-off.

Arsenal then take on Athletic Bilbao on Saturday 8 August, 5pm BST kick-off, before the Premier League season gets under way with Manchester United away on Sunday 17 August, 4:30pm BST kick-off.