Arsenal target Cody Gakpo has admitted that while he has no favourite Premier League club, he likes the Gunners ‘a lot’ thanks to Thierry Henry, who is one of the Dutchman’s idols.
Gakpo has been tipped to follow in the great Frenchman’s footsteps, with Mikel Arteta targeting the winger with a view to converting him to a striker in the future.
Generally deployed on the left wing for PSV, the 22-year-old has played just 3 games through the middle for the Eredivise outfit.
Cody Gakpo of PSV during the press conference during the Training PSV in Leicester at the King Power Stadium on April 6, 2022 in Leicester United Kingdom (Photo by Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images)
Nevertheless, 16 goals is nothing to be sniffed at, and he boasts all of the raw ingredients to be turned into a brilliant centre-forward. Pace, agility and a keen eye for goal all make him stand out from the crowd, with the caveat of course being that it is all done in the Dutch top tier rather than one of the ‘big 5 leagues’.
Gakpo favouring Arsenal?
And, speaking to Sun Sport, Gakpo revealed that he speaks to his national teammates about the Premier League, including Tottenham’s Steven Bergwijn, but that he has a particular soft spot for north London rivals Arsenal.
‘Everybody wants to play one time in the Prem,’ the attacker told The Sun. ‘I don’t favour one team but I like Arsenal a lot.’
‘I looked up to [Thierry] Henry when I was younger because he was a tall guy who played on the wing.’
‘The Premier League is a big league. Virgil van Dijk plays there with Liverpool so I like to watch them. We are not the same kind of league but I think we try to look at the Prem and learn about it.
‘If I can make a step to a team who plays in the Champions League every season, of course it is my dream. But I still have a contract. Maybe there comes a club I cannot say no to.
‘Maybe they won’t come and I have to stay but for now I just want to keep working on this season.’
English fans will be able to watch him display his talents on English soil during PSVs Conference clash with Leicester City on Thursday evening, to see how he fares against Premier League opposition.
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 30 | 52 | 73 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 30 | 57 | 72 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 29 | 35 | 59 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 15 | 54 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 29 | 10 | 54 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 31 | 11 | 51 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 30 | 8 | 51 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 | 6 | 49 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 4 | 37 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 28 | -4 | 37 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 30 | 0 | 36 |
| 12 | Southampton FC | 30 | -9 | 36 |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 | -10 | 34 |
| 14 | Brentford FC | 31 | -11 | 33 |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 30 | -21 | 31 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 31 | -33 | 30 |
| 17 | Everton FC | 28 | -19 | 25 |
| 18 | Watford FC | 30 | -28 | 22 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 28 | -18 | 21 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 30 | -45 | 18 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 20 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 14 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 12 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Toney, Ivan | Brentford FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 9 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 9 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 9 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 9 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 8 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 8 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 8 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 7 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United | 0 | 7 |
| Romero, Cristian | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 8 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 11 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 8 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United | 6 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 6 |
| James, Reece | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 6 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 5 |