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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that each Arsenal supporters have been wishing for, then possibly they will recall this night as the point his destiny changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

After a run of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from near distance 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.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Within moments and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine inspired by the character Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase 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. From the technical area, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, 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 replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Situations are not the same. Every footballer globally need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not suited at this level. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Early Challenges

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to make it in his chosen profession. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed in professional play, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Testing Period

Without a goal since the win over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his professional life. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his goal conversion. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his all‑round play has added a new layer in attack, even if the chances have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was trying too hard to stand out as he ran aggressively like a force of nature during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was created by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his opponent, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the air of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to convincing Arteta to secure the signing.

Constant Hustle

Nevertheless having faced scrutiny that he was out of shape after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. 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 goal ruled out for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. Then it must have seemed as if the first score would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker made his mark. “Ideally this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.