🔗 Share this article

If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the attacker that every Arsenal fans have been wishing for, then maybe they will reflect on this night as the juncture his destiny shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease 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.

Remarkable Shift in Luck

Shortly after and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine borrowed from the character Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was given another airing after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta celebrated wildly and motioned emphatically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the peak performance awaited.

“That’s the game, and we must not assume a player to change contexts and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their mental condition to be at its best. I advised 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 suited at this standard. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to toughen up to thrive in his selected career. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in elite soccer, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I recall it now,” 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 professional life. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “absent.”

He achieved an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the problem is clearly not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has provided additional depth in attack, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Game Analysis

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to stand out as he charged around like a bull in a china shop during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was created by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his marker, José María Giménez.

The defender has the aura of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

Yet having drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card 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 first sight of goal.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the first score would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise announced his presence. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.