‘So determined and focused!’ Gyokeres’ former coach on what sets the new Arsenal striker apart from most | OneFootball

Viktor Gyokeres’ mentality and desire have been the keys to his incredible success, according to one of his former coaches.

The Swedish striker completed his long-awaited transfer to Arsenal earlier this week and he was unveiled in front of the fans on their pre-season tour of Asia ahead of their friendly against Newcastle.

Dalibor Savic, who coached Gyokeres at his first club in Sweden, Brommapojkarna, had no doubts the forward would become a huge success, given his determination and focus to make the most of every opportunity.

Savic admits Gyokeres was not the most technically gifted talent at the club as a teenager, but says the 27-year-old’s mentality and desire is what has got him to this point.

“His biggest talent is that he’s so determined and focused and stubborn,” Savic explains.

“And he doesn’t give up, because many players maybe stop dreaming about Premier League when you reach the age of 27, but he keeps working for it and tries to be a better player every week and every day.

“Everybody knew that Viktor was going to be a top player, but reaching these clubs that we’re talking about, the Premier League or Serie A or La Liga or Ligue 1, the top, top, top clubs, you can never predict that.

“I think that all of us coaches, we’re just a small part of his football journey. We’re just a small part of putting him in the right position to work with his strengths, trying to give him advice.

“But all the hard work comes from Viktor, with the extra training, with the extra determination, extra focus.”

Gyokeres’ move to Arsenal is the culmination of years of perfecting his craft and ensuring he maximises his abilities to the fullest.

Spells at Brighton, Coventry and Swansea proved unsuccessful and it wasn’t until Gyokeres moved to Portugal, where he scored 97 goals in 102 matches for Sporting, that he announced himself as one of the most lethal strikers in Europe.

“I think he made the right choice going to Portugal and going to one of the better clubs there, maybe the best club,” Savic says.

“I mean, if you score like 44 goals or whatever he did in one season, you’re dominating the game.

“And with his physicality and always being in the box, finishing with the left foot, with the right foot. And of course, Sporting Lisbon is creating, I don’t know, 15, 20 chances per game. He’s probably going to score one or two per game.

“So I think it was wise for him to go to a minor league, but to a top club. If you remember Henrik Larsson, he went from Feyenoord to Celtic playing in the biggest and the best club in Scotland and grew as a player to be an important player and an important goal scorer.”

“When you have that mentality, as Viktor had, if we had a game and we lost it, he was mad, he was upset, he didn’t like it and he always wanted to win the next game.

“I don’t want to say he’s not fun to be around, he’s always fun to be around because he’s a good teammate. I think he’s humble, I think coaches like him, I think the other players like him, but he wants to win.

“If there’s a shooting drill, he wants to win it. If it’s a running drill, he wants to win it. So I think this mentality is what has taken him to the top level of football because I had a lot of talented players who’d stop working, you know, because they were talented, but they didn’t have the mentality that you need to have to reach top level.”