How Viktor Gyokeres has surprised Mikel Merino as Arsenal expectation set

Viktor Gyokeres has made a tremendous initial impact on new teammate Arsenal star Mikel Merino.

The Gunners midfielder has high expectations for north London’s £63.5million frontman, and the Swedish striker is already proving his worth during training sessions. Mikel Arteta has finally secured a natural leader for his attack after previously depending on converted midfielders such as Kai Havertz and Merino.

Gyokeres netted 54 goals in 52 appearances last season, and has already scored for Arsenal during pre-season. Excellence in Portugal doesn’t always translate to Premier League brilliance, yet Spain international Merino has been thoroughly impressed with Gyokeres so far, reports the Mirror.

The striker has delivered precisely what Merino anticipated on the field. Away from the pitch though, the midfielder has been taken aback. Gyokeres’ dedication and the speed at which he’s settling into Arsenal life has caught Merino off guard.

“Hopefully loads of goals! That’s what he does,” Merino told TNT Sports when asked what he expects from his new team-mate. “He’s an amazing striker. He’s strong, quick, he can threaten in the back of the line as well so that’s the main thing in terms of off the pitch.

“But I’m more surprised about off-the-pitch stuff. He’s a professional guy, really humble and he’s already adapting and ready to learn. He’s always with the eyes open so those are good qualities for a striker to have.”

Merino acknowledges that both player and club will need time to adjust to one another’s qualities though. Nonetheless, the Spaniard anticipates Gyokeres will feature prominently this campaign.

“With every player in the squad, you have to adapt to the principles that the team have already and, at the same time, us as players have to adapt to the team-mate and the qualities and the capacities they have,” Merino explained.

“Obviously, Viktor, being such a good striker with his own tools, he’s going to be a massive player for us so we’ll have to adapt to his qualities, try to find him in the right spots. And also for him, he’ll have to adapt to our values, to our principles and I’m sure it’s going to be a good relationship there.”