Thierry Henry has backed Arsenal's £64 million signing Viktor Gyokeres, describing him as a 'perfect match' for the club, but has urged fans to be patient as the striker adapts to the Premier League.
The Sweden international joined Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon this summer after scoring 97 goals in 102 appearances for the Portuguese club. Henry, Arsenal's all-time leading scorer, believes Gyokeres has the qualities of a 'proper No. 9' but warned that success may not come immediately.
'What you want is people to be patient with him,' Henry told Betway. 'He already was in England, let's not forget that. He was at Coventry, he couldn't do it at Brighton, so you can see a guy who already knows what struggling is and comes back from that.'
Gyokeres scored his first Arsenal goal in a pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao. Henry praised his instinct in the box, saying: 'That's the goal of a 9. He is not a Firmino type that's going to drop into midfield. He wants to be in the box.'
However, the move has been labelled a 'gamble' by pundits including Paul Scholes and Gary Lineker, while Rio Ferdinand expressed doubts. Arsenal also considered Benjamin Sesko before finalising the Gyokeres deal.
Henry concluded: 'From what I've seen from him and how he finishes, hopefully it's going to be a great match and we can finally go back to lift that trophy.'
