Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres has confessed the strength of Arsenal’s desire to sign him helped make the decision to move to the Emirates Stadium an easy one.
Gyökeres made it clear earlier this year that he wanted a move to an elite side this summer and soon settled on Arsenal, who were forced to suffer through lengthy, tense negotiations with Sporting CP before being able to get a deal over the line.
As those talks dragged on, Manchester United approached Sporting to try and engineer a reunion with manager Ruben Amorim, but Gyökeres’s determination to join Arsenal did not waver.
“I felt that they wanted me here,” he told The Athletic of his reasons for joining Arsenal. “But also because it’s a very big club with a lot of history. I just felt that I really wanted to come here and be a part of this club.
“Of course, there were other clubs as well. But I didn’t feel it was a difficult choice for me.”
There was already pressure on Gyökeres’s shoulders after scoring 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting, but things only ramped up when the Swede was assigned the same No.14 shirt made famous at Arsenal by a certain Thierry Henry. Sales of his new shirt are believed to have broken club records.
“Of course I know about the history [of the shirt],” Gyökeres continued. “But, to be honest, there weren’t too many numbers to pick from. 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]’s 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.
“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.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Viktor Gyokeres Explains Why He Joined Arsenal Despite Man Utd Interest.