Man in the Mask Gyökeres Stifles Jibes to Stamp His Authority at Arsenal
Should Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that every Arsenal supporters have been hoping for, then possibly they will recall this night as the moment his destiny changed. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.
On the back of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a massive sense of release washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.
Dramatic Turnaround in Fortune
Shortly after and to the delight of the home faithful, his mask celebration borrowed from the character Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “I was ignored before the mask,” was showcased again 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 punched the air and motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.
“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. Every footballer globally need one thing: their state of mind to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our introductory chat that the center forward I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not suited at this level. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”
Early Challenges
Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to build resilience to thrive in his selected career. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to excel in professional play, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said recently.
Testing Period
Without a goal since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “absent.”
He managed an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the problem is evidently not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has added a new layer in attack, even if the openings have not come to him.
Match Highlights
This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this top-level clash between two teams that had initially seemed well-balanced. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he bustled about like a bull in a china shop during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was created by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.
The defender has the aura of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this standard 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 probably significantly contributed to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.
Unyielding Drive
Nevertheless having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was tricked into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him 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 exquisite touch from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the breakthrough would elude him. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Ideally this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.
