Masked Man Gyökeres Quiets Criticism to Leave an Impression at the Gunners

Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the striker that each Arsenal fans have been praying for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the moment his luck shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it isn’t important how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the summer, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range via a deflection off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Stunning Reversal in Form

Shortly after and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine inspired by the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was given another airing after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta celebrated wildly and gestured animatedly in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Circumstances vary greatly. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their state of mind to be at its peak. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the No 9 I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to toughen up to make it in his selected career. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to make it in top-level football, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

Without a goal since the victory against Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his career. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “absent.”

He recorded an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his scoring ability. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his all‑round play has added a new layer in attack, even if the opportunities have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was certainly in evidence during the first half of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he charged around like a force of nature during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was set up by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only 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 convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

However having drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have seemed as if the first score would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the man in the mask announced his presence. “Hopefully this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.