Man in the Mask Gyökeres Silences ‘Invisible’ Taunts to Make His Mark at the Gunners

In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that all Arsenal followers have been hoping for, then possibly they will recall this night as the point his fortune turned around. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference how they go in.

Following a streak of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man signed for £64m in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Within moments and to the excitement of the local supporters, his face-covering routine modeled after the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was showcased again after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta raised his fists and gestured animatedly in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Situations are not the same. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the center forward I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Failing that, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to toughen up to thrive in his chosen profession. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed in professional play, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Challenging Spell

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his time in football. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “absent.”

He managed an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his scoring ability. As the manager has often noted, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the first few moments was originated from some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his defender, José María Giménez.

The defender has the reputation of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to convincing Arteta to secure the signing.

Unyielding Drive

However having drawn comments that he was out of shape after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the opening goal would elude him. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the man in the mask made his mark. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.