Viktor Gyokeres has said it was an “easy choice” to take Thierry Henry’s famous No14 shirt at Arsenal but insisted he wants to avoid comparisons with the Gunners legend.
The Swedish striker completed his move to Arsenal from Sporting last week, signing for an initial fee of around £55million to conclude one of the summer’s biggest transfer sagas.
After undergoing his medical and contract signing in London, Gyokeres immediately flew out to join his new team on their pre-season tour in Singapore, where he was paraded in front of fans and watched from the stands as the Gunners beat Newcastle 3-2 on Sunday.
He then trained with his new team-mates on Tuesday before the squad travelled to Hong Kong, where they will face Tottenham on Thursday in what could be a debut for the new recruit.
The 27-year-old’s “conviction” in deciding to inherit the shirt number of the club’s legendary record goal-scorer has already been praised by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, and Gyokeres has now addressed the eye-catching move himself.
"Of course I know about the history," he admitted. "But, to be honest, there weren't too many numbers to pick from.
Gyokeres told reporters on Wednesday: “But of course, that one was available - so when I knew that, it was an easy choice to take it.
"It's not really my intention to be compared with what [Henry] has achieved in his career, especially here. I just want to do my own thing and show my qualities. Of course, he was an amazing player, but different from me."
Brushing off questions of whether he will feel more pressure ahead of his debut, he added: “I think I have enough expectations on myself.
“I’ll just try to perform, to be honest. It’s not really up to me how people think or expect.”
