Gyokeres' 'stubbornness' will make him a success at Arsenal

Now that Viktor Gyokeres has officially signed for Arsenal, the question has moved on to whether he will be a success with the Gunners.

His goal record speaks for itself at Sporting, with the forward scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances and providing 26 assists during his time in Portugal.

Bjorn Hamberg, a former assistant coach to Graham Potter at Chelsea and Brighton, and recently a coach at Feyenoord, worked with Gyokeres when he was a young player coming through at the Seagulls.

At the time, the plan for Gyokeres was to be the third or fourth choice striker and to be given minutes in cup games.

However, Gyokeres did not want to only have that role and Hamberg says he "pushed to get out on loan because he just had a mindset of if he plays, he's going to do well".

"What I like with him is that he's quite stubborn," he added.

"His mindset is really good. He doesn't just sit down and wait for something to happen, he really wants grab it himself."

Gyokeres went on loan to Swansea and scored just one goal in 12 appearances and Hamberg said that the Swedish striker just wanted to find a "different solution to go again".

That solution was for Gyokeres to go on loan to Coventry City in January 2021.

The 27-year-old scored three goals in the second half of the campaign, including his first league goal in English football, and made his move permanent that summer at the age of 23.

During the next two seasons he would become one of the most prolific strikers in the Championship, netting 43 goals in 116 appearances.

"I would say that he is similar from then to now, hard-working, but a lot of power, a lot of runs behind," Hamberg continued.

"I always liked that directness towards goal, whether he was involved in the buildup or not, and it was probably less with us, but he used to come off from training and he would have scored a goal or two.

"He always had that ability to find the back of the net."

After helping Sporting to two league titles and scoring goals in the Champions League, Hamberg believes that Gyokeres' ability and his stature mean he is likely do well in the Premier League.

"What I like along with his ability in the Premier League, he has got the physicality for sure. He improves every year and normally stays fit," he added.

"He's just one of those players who is good around the box, good finisher, but he's also quite strong in transition and in big spaces.

"So he's quite versatile in that sense and I think that's a really big thing in the Premier League."