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

If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that all Arsenal supporters have been wishing for, then maybe they will recall this night as the moment his destiny changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they find the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and expectations rising on the man signed for £64m in the close season, a huge wave of relief washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped 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 serious contenders this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Shortly after and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his mask celebration borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “I was ignored before the mask,” was showcased again after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory 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 shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Things are very different. All players in the world need one thing: their state of mind to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not suited at this standard. 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 situated in Stockholm’s southside districts, 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 was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Challenging Spell

Goal-shy since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London 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 last two weeks, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “invisible.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his goal conversion. As the manager has often noted, his all‑round play has added a new layer in attack, even if the openings have not come to him.

Key Moments

This was clearly apparent during the initial 45 minutes of this top-level clash between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a bull in a china shop during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was out of shape after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a booking when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the first score would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.