Soccer-Gyokeres set for Arsenal debut at Man Utd, says Arteta
(Reuters) -Arsenal's new Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres is primed to make his Premier League debut against Manchester United, with manager Mikel Arteta predicting on Friday that the striker will have a "tremendous impact" this season as the club chases silverware.
Arsenal splashed nearly 200 million pounds ($271.12 million) in a summer spending spree to land six new players including Gyokeres, who was hot property on the transfer market after netting 54 times in all competitions for Sporting last term.
Benjamin Sesko had been on Arsenal's radar before moving to United and in a twist of transfer fate, the two clubs' new strikers are set to face off at Old Trafford when the age-old Premier League rivals play each other in a rare season opener.
"I can just talk about Viktor and how happy we are to have him. He is going to have a tremendous impact in the team and his adaptation has been really, really good and we are happy to have him," Arteta told reporters.
"Many strikers have come from different leagues and been successful. It's on us, creating the right context for Viktor to do what he does best, which is to score goals.
"He is getting better and better every day. He is normally a really fit player and he has had the small moments in two (pre-season) games with us, so let's see what he brings on Sunday."
Arteta said new midfield recruit Martin Zubimendi has also integrated into the team well and is fit for Sunday's game.
Arsenal have finished the last three seasons as runners-up in the Premier League and the pressure is on Arteta to deliver a league title after reinforcing the squad in key positions.
"If you keep digging, digging and digging, then one day the gold is going to be there. All the time, it is what I have been taught my whole life," Arteta said.
"For the last three seasons we have more points (combined) than anybody else in the league and that says a lot about our consistency. Now we just have to do it in a season."
Arsenal great and former skipper Tony Adams suggested Arteta should take the captain's armband from Martin Odegaard, who had a relatively poor season due to injuries last term, and hand it to Declan Rice.
However, Arteta said the decision to stick with Odegaard as the captain was unanimous.
"My opinion is clear and it's not just my opinion, it's all the staff and especially the players. I asked them to vote the captain and I got the result yesterday," Arteta said.
"By a mile, by a big, big 100 miles, everybody chose the same person - Martin Odegaard - which is the most clear sign that you can have.
"It's how they feel about who has to be their captain to defend, improve and win the matches that we want to win."
($1 = 0.7377 pounds)
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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