“I have faced so many amazing players before but what he did in training today, I’ve never seen that in my whole career”: Arsenal’s defender William Saliba names ONE Arsenal’s new signing who shocked him with what he has never seen before in his career
Viktor Gyokeres will soon realise his dream of playing in the Premier League and the former Sporting CP and Coventry City striker has already achieved a little piece of history at his new club.
Arsenal finally got their man last week when they agreed a big money deal with the Portuguese champions, for whom Gyokeres scored 97 goals in 102 matches in all competitions.
The 27-year-old came close to Premier League promotion with Coventry two years ago and was linked with Manchester United and the Gunners before the North London club saw off their competition this summer.
Gyokeres demonstrated his confidence in his ability to translate prolific scoring in Portugal into the necessary return back in England, taking over Arsenal’s number 14 shirt nearly two decades after it was left behind by one of the Premier League’s greatest ever players.
Thierry Henry ended his first legendary stint at Arsenal with 174 Premier League goals and five major trophies to his name, so inheriting his shirt number – though purely symbolic – is not for the faint of heart.
Gyokeres has overcome the first hurdle, perhaps surprisingly, by breaking Arsenal’s record shirt sales.
“While data from various outlets and retailers is still being analysed, it is already clear that demand for Gyokeres’ No 14 shirt exceeds that of any signing in recent history,” reports The Athletic.
“To mark Gyokeres’ arrival, Arsenal offered to print his name on any of next season’s Arsenal shirts for free – a service which would normally cost £16.
“The offer was valid either in person at one of the club stores, or via the official online shop. Demand was so high that the shop’s website temporarily crashed.”
The Athletic reports that Gyokeres sought out the number 14 because Gabriel Jesus is Arsenal’s number 9 and Henry’s number signifies the club’s record goalscorer.
Henry, who was part of the Gunners’ famous invincible season, surpassed Ian Wright as their record scorer in October 2005.
Gyokeres has a long way to go to match Henry’s contribution but the excitement around his signing is significant.
Arsenal’s struggles without a fit and reliable centre-forward have been unavoidable in the last few seasons and injury problems in 2024-25 forced manager Mikel Arteta to deploy Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino in the position as Arsenal’s title hopes faded.
