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Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that each Arsenal supporters have been hoping for, then maybe they will look back on this night as the point his fortune shifted. 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 brought in for a substantial sum in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Fortune

Shortly after and to the excitement of the stadium crowd, his Bane-inspired gesture inspired by the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was given another airing after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout 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 previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, and we must not assume 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. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I sought for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not cut out at this standard. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Early Challenges

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to toughen up to make it in his chosen profession. Admonished after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in top-level football, he ultimately switched 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 in a recent interview.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his career. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were beaten 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 incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is obviously not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the chances have not been in his favor.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this top-level clash between two teams that had originally looked well-balanced. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was originated from some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped 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 participating in just his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Relentless Effort

Yet having drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was fooled into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an hesitant shot towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the opening goal would elude him. But the dam burst when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the man in the mask announced his presence. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.