Viktor Gyokeres was greeted with a letter from Martin Odegaard on his first day as an Arsenal player, welcoming him into the team.
Our captain spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s pre-season friendly with Tottenham Hotspur, and explained more about how he and his teammates are helping our latest signing settle into his new surroundings.
“With the language and everything, it’s been easier for me to help him,” he added. “We can speak our own language. Scandinavians, they always bond well together. So, in that way, it’s been really natural.
“But to be fair, it’s like with any player. Every new player, we try to help them in the best possible way. That’s what I felt when I came here. I felt at home straight away. I felt how good the culture and environment was to get into. Everyone just wants to help you and get the best out of you.
“Then it’s important also how you do things off the pitch. That’s what we all do. So, we’re just here to help. So far, he’s having a good time, I think.
“I think you’ve all seen what he’s done in his career so far. Especially the last season at Sporting, the numbers speak for themselves. He’s a very complete player. He’s physical, strong, fast, good finisher, and intelligent as well. I think he’s a very complete striker.
“You can also see the hunger, the energy he brings. I’m really excited to have him with the team. He’s only trained a few times, but you can already see the quality, the energy, and the willingness. I’m excited to have a pitch with him.”
“It’s been a while since we’ve played this type of game, so I think that’s what we all want”
No stranger to stepping up to big occasions as a young player, Odegaard was also asked about the two 15-year-olds we have in our pre-season squad – Max Dowman and Marli Salmon – and how he’s taken them under his wing.
“To be fair, I think the whole squad is really good in this way, to help young players and as you say, with those two there, they’re so young and have so much quality,” he said. “I think myself, I just try to share my experience, guide them in the right direction, help them to keep the right mindset, because you can see that the quality is obviously there.
“Just trying to help them to have the right mindset and to help them feel good in the team and to let them shine and do their thing. They’ve been amazing on this tour, and you can all see the quality. It’ll be exciting to see in the future.”
Looking ahead to Thursday’s first ever north London derby outside of the UK, Odegaard spoke about how excited he is to be playing such a fixture in front of a huge crowd.
“I love it, and I think we all do,” he said. “I think we’re all excited, you know, to play in front of so many supporters, and as Mikel said here, we really felt that love and the connection here.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played this type of game, so I think that’s what we all want. And, yeah, for me it’s a good thing that we get a proper test and something that means a little bit more, you know, with the derby. So, I think we’re all just really excited and eager to play.
“I think the support and the reception we’ve had here has been amazing. Yesterday we arrived at the hotel and there were people everywhere and shirts everywhere. We really felt that love, you know, when we came.
“And today in the stadium, around 20,000 people to come and watch us train. The game tomorrow is sold out. So, yeah, we really feel that, and it’s really special. And it’s amazing to travel so far and still feel that, you know, so it’s something we really appreciate.
“It means a lot to us, you know, to make people happy and make people enjoy football. So, yeah, that’s really good.”
Copyright 2025 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.