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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that all Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the point his fortune changed. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it isn’t important how they go in.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the offseason, a massive sense of release swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from near distance via a ricochet 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 Luck

Shortly after and to the joy of the home faithful, his face-covering routine inspired by the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “I was ignored before the mask,” 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 motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, and we must not assume a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Situations are not the same. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this tier. 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 based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to thrive in his selected career. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to make it in top-level football, he was eventually transformed from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I think about it often,” he said not long ago.

Challenging Spell

Goal-shy since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his professional life. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were defeated 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 remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the problem is obviously not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the chances have not been in his favor.

Key Moments

This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he charged around like a force of nature during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments 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 reputation of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced at this stage compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only 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 drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker pursued each opportunity as if his future was at stake. Giménez was drawn into conceding a caution when Gyökeres made contact 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 first sight of goal.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the opening goal would elude him. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the man in the mask made his mark. “With any luck this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.