Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has said that Arsenal signing Viktor Gyokeres is “a killer in the box” and could make all the difference for Mikel Arteta. 

The Gunners had been crying out for a striker for what feels like an eternity now, and it was always going to be this transfer window where they finally went out and spent big on a new number nine.

They signed Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP for £64m, and he already scored his first goal, which came against Athletic Bilbao in pre-season. Gyokeres will face up against his former manager Ruben Amorim on Sunday in his first Premier League game for Arsenal at Old Trafford against Man United.

Heading into the season, there is a lot of pressure on Gyokeres to perform, with many believing that Arsenal have been just a striker away from winning the Premier League over the past three seasons when they finished second.

Henry says Gyokeres is “a killer in the box”

Former Arsenal striker Thierry Henry already has a connection to Gyokeres, as the Swedish striker will don the iconic number 14 shirt that the French striker himself used to wear for the Gunners…no pressure.

Henry praised the signing however, and said that Gyokeres could be the perfect match for Arsenal. He told Betway: “‘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 9.

“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.”

Henry says Arsenal need to be patient with Gyokeres

However, for all that was good about what Henry said, he did say that both Arsenal fans, and Mikel Arteta will need to be patient if Gyokeres gets off to a slow start.

“What you want is people to be patient with him,” Henry added, “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.

“He already was in England, let’s not forget that. He was at Coventry, he couldn’t do it at Brighton, so you can see a guy who already knows what struggling is and comes back from that. From what I’ve seen from him and how he finishes, hopefully it’s going to be a great match and we can finally go back to lift that trophy.”

Click here to see Arsenal’s first team ahead of the new season.