Mikel Arteta says it took one phone call to be convinced that Viktor Gyokeres was the right signing for Arsenal.
Gyokeres joined the Gunners this summer from Sporting CP in a deal worth £64million and is already up and running for his new club having scored in a pre-season friendly win over Athletic Club.
After three consecutive seasons of finishing runners-up in the Premier League, Gyokeres is seen by many as final piece in Arsenal’s jigsaw given his goalscoring record over the past two campaigns.
In 102 games across all competitions for Sporting, the Swede netted 97 goals thus establishing himself as one of the most lethal strikers in the whole of Europe.
However, those impressive numbers didn’t solely sway Arteta into believing Gyokeres was the ideal striker signing amid strong links to Benjamin Sesko - who has since left RB Leipzig for Manchester United.
Speaking to Men In Blazers, the Arsenal manager revealed what was the “most important data” regarding the decision to pursue Gyokeres.
“It's it was my first phone call with him,” Arteta said. “That was the best data tell us about it. When I told him the idea that I had and I wanted to just look at his reaction, they come into ours and imagine yourself putting that shirt on, walking into a dressing room with respect is around you.
“How do you handle it? Eyes open. Like this. That's my dream. So that's a bit of data because you can have all the data, but this guy has to come in that room with that pressure into that league.
“And that for me, that was the most important data.
“The other data I knew is how this guy is going to behave when he comes in that pitch, with that security, with that dominance and with that arrogance almost to say, don't worry, I will do it.”
Gyokeres is in contention to make his competitive Arsenal debut against Manchester United on Sunday, meaning he could come up against his former head coach at Sporting, Ruben Amorim.
