Arsenal right back Ben White revealed that Viktor Gyökeres’s monstrous work ethic in training is on par with club captain Martin Ødegaard.
White came through at Brighton & Hove Albion at the same time as Gyökeres. Both talented youngsters were sent out on loan and while White impressed enough at Leeds United to earn a chance in the Seagulls’ first team, Gyökeres struggled through a series of uninspiring temporary spells.
The burly striker eventually discovered his best form at Sporting CP, racking up a startling goal record across two years in Lisbon which convinced Arsenal to splash £55 million ($74.2 million) on the 27-year-old.
Gyökeres’s start to life in north London has not been seamless—he was accused of being out of shape by Swedish media after an underwhelming pair of appearances this month—but he’s certainly made an impressive impression on his fellow teammates.
“I can’t say a bad word about him to be honest,” White gushed to Arsenal’s in-house media. “He’s one of the most professional trainers I’ve ever seen, he’s right up there with Martin Ødegaard in that respect. It’s great that we have these players coming in, because all this competition for places makes people lift their standards and it makes everyone better.”
While some may question Gyökeres’s physical conditioning, White is adamant that the hulking forward has supreme control over his size.
“He’s a monster!” the Arsenal defender laughed. “He lives for goals. doesn’t he? He’s a constant threat. You really don’t want to get in his way when you are playing against him, because he’ll just move you out of the way anyway!
“He’s such a big presence and I think it will be a massive help that he’s already played in English football. You see a lot of people come to the Premier League and they’ve had no taste of what it’s like and it can be a struggle.
“But for Viktor, he’s well used to it. He played at Coventry, and I played loads of games with him at Brighton. So he’s seen it, he knows what it's going to be like and what to expect from the defenders.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Monster’—Arsenal Star Makes Telling Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Odegaard Comparison.