Thierry Henry backing Viktor Gyokeres despite mixed start to Arsenal career

Viktor Gyokeres has enjoyed a mixed start to life as a Gunner but for Thierry Henry, his goalscoring stats do not overly matter as long as the team continues to do well.

The Swedish striker arrived at the Emirates last summer for a fee of £55m plus add-ons with the hope that he would be the man to fire Arsenal to the Premier League title after his stunning exploits with Sporting.

It has not quite worked like that with Gyokeres struggling at times despite his six goals in 14 appearances but Mikel Arteta’s rock-solid side four points clear at the top of the league table after 11 games.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry lists Viktor Gyokeres' strengths

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Ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest Premier League players of all time, Henry knows a thing or two about goals – but sees the bigger picture with Gyokeres’ role not just about hitting the back of the net.

Speaking to Betway ahead of this Sunday's North London Derby, Henry says that despite the criticism his successor has faced, he thinks the Swede has played well.

“It’s always the same thing,” Henry said. You want Gyokeres to play well, and he obviously does stretch the team, he makes the runs of a no.9 and he holds the ball up.

“But what you really want, as an Arsenal fan, is the team to do well and find a way to win.

“The most important thing is that Mikel Arteta is happy with him."

Gyokeres suffered a hamstring injury in the 2-0 win at Burnley on November 1, a game in which he opened the scoring, and is set to miss out on Sunday's visit of Tottenham.

The 27-year-old is one of several Arsenal players out, with Gabriel the latest to join the injury list, and Henry alluded to the injury crisis ahead of the North London Derby.

“You’re hoping for Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and everyone else to come back,” the Frenchman said. “We’re missing a lot of players, and that tells you how big the squad is.”

The Gunners host their bitter rivals ahead of clashes with Bayern Munich and Chelsea in arguably the biggest week of their season so far, as Premier League action resumes this weekend.