Ben White has hailed Viktor Gyökeres as “a monster” and “one of the most serious professionals in training” after the Swedish striker’s immediate impact at Arsenal.
Signed from Sporting in August, Gyökeres has already scored twice for Mikel Arteta’s side and drawn glowing praise from his teammates.
White, who knows him from their time together at Brighton, stressed both his physical power and his mentality.
“He’s a monster,” White said. “He lives for goals and is always a threat to your goal. You really don’t want to meet him on the pitch because physically you can’t stop him.
“He will help us a lot and he won’t need to adapt because he has already played in England. You’ve seen people come here before and have a hard time.”
White pointed to Gyökeres’s time at Coventry as evidence of his readiness for the Premier League and recalled his early promise at Brighton. “Viktor is already used to everything at Arsenal. He was at Coventry, then we played a lot of games together at Brighton. He’s seen how things work and knows what to expect from defences.
“I honestly can’t find a negative word for him. This man is one of the most serious professionals in training. Just like Martin Ødegaard,” he added.
This week, Gyökeres won the Portuguese league’s Player of the Season award for the second year in a row after scoring 39 goals for Sporting in 2024/25 before completing his move to London.
His professionalism and work ethic have impressed immediately, with White’s words underlining the sense inside the dressing room that Arsenal have secured a forward of genuine quality.
Arsenal opened their league campaign with victories against Manchester United and Leeds United, before suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat at Liverpool.
Gyökeres will be central to their response as Arteta’s side look to bounce back this weekend against Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest.