🔗 Share this article

If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that all Arsenal supporters have been wishing for, then maybe they will reflect on this night as the point his fortune turned around. 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 Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and expectations rising on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a deflection off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the home faithful, his mask celebration modeled after the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was repeated once more after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta raised his fists and motioned emphatically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“This is football, and we shouldn’t anticipate 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. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this standard. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his selected career. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to excel in elite soccer, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his career. Gyökeres was heavily criticised 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 managed an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the issue is evidently not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in the final third, even if the openings have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was certainly in evidence during the first half of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was trying too hard to stand out as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the first few moments was created by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the aura of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is deeply knowledgeable at this stage compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

Nevertheless having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker pursued each opportunity as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was fooled into conceding a booking when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an hesitant shot towards goal. Then it must have appeared that the breakthrough would never come. But the dam burst 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. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.