Man in the Mask Gyökeres Stifles Jibes to Stamp His Authority at the Gunners

Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the attacker that each Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then possibly they will recall this night as the point his destiny turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they go in.

Following a streak of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the close season, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they are here to compete this season.

Remarkable Shift in Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine inspired by the character Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “I was ignored before the mask,” was given another airing after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“That’s the game, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to change contexts and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Circumstances vary greatly. Every footballer globally need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the No 9 I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his chosen profession. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in elite soccer, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

Without a goal since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his time in football. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “invisible.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his finishing. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his complete game has provided additional depth in attack, even if the openings have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this top-level clash between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a impression that Gyökeres was trying too hard to impress as he ran aggressively like a force of nature during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the air of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to secure the signing.

Relentless Effort

Yet having faced scrutiny that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was drawn into conceding a booking when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an hesitant shot towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the breakthrough would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the masked striker made his mark. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.