🔗 Share this article

In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that every Arsenal followers have been praying for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the moment his destiny turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they find the net.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the close season, a massive sense of release engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range via a deflection 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 Luck

Shortly after and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his mask celebration borrowed from the character Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “attention came only with the disguise,” was showcased again after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta celebrated wildly and motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the peak performance awaited.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Situations are not the same. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not cut out at this standard. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his chosen profession. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to make it in elite soccer, he ultimately switched from a winger into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his career. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the chances have not been in his favor.

Match Highlights

This was certainly in evidence during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked well-balanced. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was originated from some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the aura of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar 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.

Constant Hustle

However having drawn comments that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker pursued each opportunity as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have appeared that the opening goal would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise announced his presence. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.