Man in the Mask Gyökeres Quiets Criticism to Stamp His Authority at Arsenal

In the event that Viktor Gyökeres develops into the attacker that every Arsenal followers have been wishing for, then possibly they will recall this night as the point his destiny changed. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it doesn’t matter how they go in.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and pressure mounting on the man signed for £64m in the summer, a huge wave of relief swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was given another airing after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta raised his fists and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“That’s the game, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Situations are not the same. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its optimum. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Early Challenges

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to make it in his vocation. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to excel in top-level football, he ended up being converted from a wide player into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. 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 “invisible.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the issue is obviously not his goal conversion. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the chances have not fallen his way.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was pressing too much to stand out as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his opponent, José María Giménez.

The defender has the reputation of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is deeply knowledgeable at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Relentless Effort

However having faced scrutiny that he was carrying a few too many pounds after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was fooled into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. At that stage it must have felt like the first score would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise made his mark. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.