Football General Manager
- Gyokeres has taken the No.14 shirt at Emirates
- Shirt sales have hit the roof
- A special offer has further pushed up the numbers
The Gunners completed the high-profile capture of Gyokeres on July 26, paying an initial €63.5 million (£54.8 million or $74.2 million) to secure his services from Sporting CP. Ahead of the friendly clash against Newcastle United at Singapore’s National Stadium, Gyokeres was formally introduced to the crowd and was met with thunderous applause. The excitement among the fans was palpable, with many seeing him as the solution to the club’s long-standing search for a clinical centre-forward.
The No.14 kit holds a revered place in Arsenal folklore, having previously belonged to Thierry Henry, the club’s all-time leading scorer. Although Gyokeres reportedly would have preferred the No.9, his willingness to wear 14 has only further endeared him to fans who view the number as symbolic of Arsenal’s attacking legacy.
To celebrate his signing, the club rolled out a promotional offer allowing fans to have “Gyokeres 14” printed on any new-season Arsenal jersey at no extra cost. This service, typically priced at £16, was made available both at official club stores and via the team’s online shop. The promotion was met with such overwhelming enthusiasm that Arsenal’s online store briefly crashed due to the sheer volume of traffic.
The giveaway is set to continue through Thursday, and analysts expect the total sales to climb even higher as more fans take advantage of the free name-and-number offer. Importantly, the final tally will also include data from third-party retailers who are not participating in the promotional campaign, meaning the final numbers could be even more staggering.
Before Gyokeres’ arrival, jerseys bearing the names of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, and Martin Odegaard were consistently among the top sellers. Yet Gyokeres has quickly eclipsed all of them, suggesting not only immense popularity but also massive expectations for what he might achieve in an Arsenal shirt.
Gyokeres took part in a training session with Arsenal in Singapore on Tuesday morning, joining the squad for drills ahead of the next leg of the pre-season tour. The team is now en route to Hong Kong, where they will face rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Kai Tak Sports Park on Thursday, July 31.
