Arsenal are hoping that Viktor Gyokeres is the latest in a long history of great strikers at the club.
Fan favourites such as Ian Wright and Alan Smith fired the Gunners to glory in the 1990s as the club picked up multiple domestic trophies and a famous European Cup Winners Cup triumph.
Arsene Wenger then enjoyed the best years of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wowed fans across managerial reigns.
Robin Van Persie was another example of a world-class centre forward at the Gunners but is much maligned by supporters after he moved to Manchester United at the peak of his powers.
However, the Dutch centre forward may have shown Mikel Arteta that Gyokeres can get off to a flying start in his Arsenal career.
Robin van Persie scored in his first three appearances against Arsenal
Gyokeres is set to make his competitive debut for the Gunners in the Premier League season opener away at Old Trafford.
The clash with old rivals Manchester United will see the Swede come up against his former manager Ruben Amorim from his time at Sporting Lisbon.
Amorim may be forgiven for thinking that he best knows how to deal with the threat of Gyokeres, but Van Persie proved that is not always the case as he scored in his first three appearances against Wenger’s Arsenal.
Arteta will now be hoping his new £63m acquisition can return the favour to United by scoring against his former manager on his debut.
Gyokeres has shown a strong mentality already at Arsenal by choosing Henry’s iconic number 14 shirt and there are not many better ways of winning over the club’s supporters than by scoring at Old Trafford.
Viktor Gyokeres could relish the space Manchester United will give Arsenal in behind
Last season’s encounter at Old Trafford saw Amorim’s side place eleven players behind the ball and frustrated Arteta’s side, who lacked a recognised centre forward.
However, this time around, Amorim will not be allowed to play like that by the home crowd, especially with exciting new signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in their side.
Gyokeres proved against Manchester City in the Champions League last season that he is a player that thrives when he has space in behind and can cause United all sorts of problems if they push up the pitch.
In Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, Gyokeres also has the creativity behind him to find those killer passes and set him free upon the United goal.
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