Thierry Henry: Arsenal’s Title Hopes Won’t Depend Solely on Viktor Gyokeres

Thierry Henry – Arsenal’s Title Bid Won’t Rest on Viktor Gyokeres Alone

Arsenal’s £64 million summer signing Viktor Gyokeres might have arrived with the aura of a proven goalscorer, but Thierry Henry is urging patience and perspective.

• Ian Wright Backs Gyokeres to Fire Arsenal’s Title Push.

The Swedish forward heads into the new Premier League season with an eye-catching record from Sporting Lisbon: 97 goals and 28 assists in two years. Yet Henry, Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer, knows that translating those numbers into English football won’t be automatic.

“He already was in England, let’s not forget that. He was at Coventry, he couldn’t do it at Brighton,” Henry reminded as the Daily Mail reported. “So, you can see a guy who already knows what struggling is and comes back from that. He’s more confident, and you can see from his body the way he’s looked after himself, the way he’s changed.”

Gyokeres’ early days in England were quiet, with limited chances at Brighton and a career revival in the Championship. Now, wearing Arsenal’s iconic No. 14 shirt once made legendary by Henry himself, expectations are inevitable.

• 12 Interesting Viktor Gyökeres Facts From Childhood.

“You have a guy that’s a killer in the box – numbers don’t lie – and you have a team that creates a lot of chances, so it should be the perfect match,” Henry said.

“It’s always unfair when I talk about a striker, it brings an unnecessary pressure… What you want is people to be patient with him, and what is annoying right now is that people are not that patient anymore.”

Henry stressed that instant success is rare and supporters should resist the urge to judge before the season settles. “They want the guy to perform straight away, score goals straight away and make us win straight away, which doesn’t happen often… I love when people show me what they can do, and then I can talk. Right now, people love to talk before the performance.”

And while the Frenchman hopes Gyokeres will be a difference-maker, he was clear that Arsenal’s title challenge will depend on more than one man.

Gyokeres thrived at Sporting under Ruben Amorim

“I’m an Arsenal fan, I obviously hope he’s going to do well, bang goals for us, and guide us to a title, but he’s not going to do that alone,” he said. “We have seen that goals don’t always assure you a title… The team around them has to be good.”

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Gyokeres has already offered a glimpse of his sharpness, scoring in a 3-0 Emirates Cup win over Athletic Bilbao. He is the club’s first true centre-forward since the Aubameyang and Lacazette partnership ended in 2022.

Henry, though, believes the coming months will be as much about the team’s cohesion as the new striker’s finishing touch.