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

If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the forward that each Arsenal fans have been wishing for, then maybe they will recall this night as the moment his luck shifted. According to the classic forward’s saying, it doesn’t matter how they find the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from point-blank 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.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the home faithful, his face-covering routine borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “attention came only with the disguise,” was repeated once more 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 past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we must not assume a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Things are very different. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our introductory chat that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this level. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his chosen profession. Rebuked 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 flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Goal-shy since the victory against Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his career. 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 “invisible.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his finishing. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared well-balanced. There was a impression that Gyökeres was trying too hard to impress as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was originated from some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the air of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this stage compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

However having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was fooled into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after finishing 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 set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the first score would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the forward with the disguise made his mark. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.