'Scary' Gyokeres can fire Arsenal to Premier League glory, says Saliba

Arsenal's acquisition of Viktor Gyokeres is a "scary" proposition for their Premier League title rivals, says the striker's new teammate William Saliba.

The Gunners finally completed a £63.5m (€72.6m) move for Gyokeres last week, having seen the transfer delayed as they negotiated add-ons with his former club Sporting CP.

The Sweden international was presented to fans before the second game of Arsenal's pre-season tour of Asia on Sunday, as they beat Newcastle United 3-2 in Singapore.

Hopes are high among the Gunners' fanbase that Gyokeres can help end their 21-year wait to be crowned champions of England.

He was the most prolific striker in Europe's top 10 leagues last season, netting 39 times in 33 Primeira Liga appearances as Sporting won their 21st top-flight crown.

Even when taking out Gyokeres' 12 goals from the penalty spot, he still scored more non-penalty goals than any other player in Europe's top 10 leagues, with Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski tied for second with 24 apiece.

Remarkably, Gyokeres netted 30 more league goals than any Arsenal player last season, with Kai Havertz leading the Gunners' Premier League scoring charts with nine.

Last season was the first Premier League campaign (since 1992-93) in which no Arsenal player hit double figures for goals in the competition.

They had three players achieve the feat in 2023-24 (Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard) and four the previous campaign (Saka, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard).

Speaking to reporters after Arsenal's victory over Newcastle, Saliba said no defender in the Premier League will want to face the Gunners' new number 14.

"We know how good he is, it's scary to play against him," Saliba said.

"Of course, I'm so happy to have him at my club, and I'm sure that he will help us to win games and win trophies.

"When you face a striker who scores goals, you have to be focused! But now he's in our team and he will score for us, so that's good."

Arsenal have finished as Premier League runners-up in each of the last three seasons and have not delivered a major trophy in any of Mikel Arteta's five full campaigns at the helm.

They won the FA Cup under the Spaniard after he took charge midway through 2019-20, but two Community Shield triumphs are all they have to show for their efforts in the five years since.

However, Saliba is convinced they have what it takes to dethrone Liverpool in 2025-26.

"Every year is different. We have to learn from the last three seasons," he said. "Of course, we are lucky to have a chance to compete in the Premier League again to try to win.

"Our mindset is to win the Premier League, and we will give everything from the first game. We have a lot of new players, and they will hopefully help us to win this league."

Arsenal's Premier League campaign begins away at Manchester United on August 17, with games against Leeds United and Liverpool to follow before the end of the month.