Arsenal fans are desperate to get a real glimpse of Viktor Gyokeres after the Swede’s brief cameo against Tottenham.
Gyokeres had two touches against Spurs, making his debut from the bench just days after flying from London to Hong Kong after completing his medical.
The 27-year-old headed straight to join Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Asia after signing his contract, arriving from Sporting CP after a lengthy transfer saga.
Given that Gyokeres fell out with Sporting in order to force his move to N5, some were cautious of the player’s temperament, but it’s already become clear that the early assumptions were incorrect.
Viktor Gyokeres’ introverted persona after joining Arsenal
Speaking on the Arseblog Arsecast podcast, journalist James McNicholas gave an insight into what Gyokeres was really like during the tour of Asia.
McNicholas admitted that he expected the striker to be an extrovert, boasting one of the best goalscoring records in Europe, but this wasn’t the case.
“I will caveat this, he had not long been with Arsenal, he had a mad few days where he’d flown out, so he may have been jet-lagged and fatigued, but he was more reserved than I anticipated.
“I think because of the way he was built up by social media, he felt quite extroverted, but, off the pitch, he appears to be a more reserved character.”
On the pitch, Gyokeres appears to be an almost robotic centre-forward with searing pace and an innate finishing ability, but away from the action, the reality is that he’s quite reserved.
As McNicholas acknowledged, the travelling and high drama of completing a transfer might’ve taken the wind out of Gyokeres’ sails, as the 27-year-old appeared to be quieter than expected.
Gyokeres isn’t shy on the pitch
The reserved figure that was seen during the pre-season tour of Asia isn’t the profile that Sporting fans watched week in week out last term.
Gyokeres scored 54 goals in all competitions for the Portuguese champions last season, stepping up to hand the Lions silverware, as well as providing many memorable moments.
Arteta won’t mind that Gyokeres is reserved away from the action, so long as he explodes on the pitch as he did during his two-year stay in Lisbon.
The 27-year-old will be desperate to announce his arrival to the Emirates, as the Gunners prepare to welcome Villarreal to the Emirates in their penultimate pre-season test.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
