🔗 Share this article

If Viktor Gyökeres develops into the striker that all Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then maybe they will reflect on this night as the juncture his luck shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it doesn’t matter how they hit the back of the net.

After a run of nine matches for club and country without a goal and expectations rising on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a massive sense of release engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from point-blank via a glance off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are serious contenders this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Form

Within moments and to the excitement of the home faithful, his mask celebration modeled after the character Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was repeated once more after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta punched the air and motioned emphatically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to change contexts and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Circumstances vary greatly. Every footballer globally need one thing: their mental condition to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to build resilience to thrive in his selected career. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in top-level football, he ultimately switched from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Without a goal since the victory against 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 defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “invisible.”

He recorded an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the problem is evidently not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has added a new layer in offense, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he charged around like a force of nature during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the initial stages was created by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan 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 netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Relentless Effort

However having attracted criticism that he was overweight after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was fooled into conceding a caution 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 brilliant pass from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an hesitant shot towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the first score would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the man in the mask left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.