Arsenal fans have been waiting for a striker signing for a long time now and they finally got their wish as they shelled out big money to draft in Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres from Portuguese club Sporting Lisbon. And to add to the hype of his arrival, it was confirmed that he’d be wearing the iconic No 14 jersey, made famous by club legend Thierry Henry.
“Of course I know about the history,” said Gyokeres, about choosing that number, according to BBC. “To be honest there weren’t so many numbers available. There weren’t too many to pick from. But of course, that one was available. So when I knew that it was an easy choice to take it.”
Of course, the jersey has been worn by others too but Henry adds immense weight to it. According to the Arsenal website, the 174 goals in the Premier League that Henry alone scored wearing No 14 is beaten in tally only by three other numbers: “Only players wearing the number 10 (180 goals), number 7 (203), and number 8 (212) jerseys have bettered Henry’s record.”
Henry joined Arsenal in 1999 and was assigned the number that been worn by Martin Keown previously. The French striker had another spell at the club where he wore No 12 on loan. Theo Walcott was Henry’s successor to the No 14 jersey, and then came Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who also went on to lead the Arsenal. The last player to wear No 14 at Arsenal was Eddie Nketiah who has since gone on to join Crystal Palace.
But Gyokeres is not daunted by the weight of the jersey number. “I don’t know. It’s not really my intention to be compared with what he’s achieved in his career,” Gyokeres said. “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. I just want to try to do my own thing.”
On the striker wearing that number, manager Mikel Arteta told the club website: “I think I use the word conviction. That’s the first thing that I noticed when I spoke to him. Someone very determined, someone that was already attached to the club, the way he was talking about the club, the history, in this case Thierry [Henry], and what the shirt represented. I felt it, so when you feel it, go for it.”
Club captain Martin Odegaard said he was looking forward to joining up with the striker. “I think you’ve all seen what he’s done in his career so far. Especially the last season at Sporting, the numbers speak for themselves. He’s a very complete player. He’s physical, strong, fast, good finisher, and intelligent as well. I think he’s a very complete striker and you can also see the hunger, the energy he brings. I’m really excited to have him with the team. He’s only trained a few times, but you can already see the quality, the energy, and the willingness. I’m excited to have a pitch with him,” he is quoted as saying by Arsenal.com ahead of the friendly against North London rivals Tottenham in Hong Kong.
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