Man in the Mask Gyökeres Silences ‘Invisible’ Taunts to Stamp His Authority at Arsenal

Should Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that each Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then perhaps they will look back on this night as the juncture his fortune turned around. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it doesn’t matter 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 offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from near distance via a ricochet off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are here to compete this season.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Shortly after and to the excitement of the local supporters, his face-covering routine borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta raised his fists and motioned emphatically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we must not assume a player to change contexts and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Situations are not the same. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their state of mind to be at its best. I advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Youthful Struggles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to build resilience to succeed in his chosen profession. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in top-level football, he was eventually transformed from a wide player into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Without a goal since the victory against Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten 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 incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the issue is obviously not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this elite matchup between two teams that had at first appeared well-balanced. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his defender, José María Giménez.

The defender has the air of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is highly seasoned at this level 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 likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having faced scrutiny that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was tricked into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. 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 brilliant pass from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an hesitant shot towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the breakthrough would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the masked striker left his imprint. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.