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Should Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that every Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the moment his destiny turned around. 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 his team and national side without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Stunning Reversal in Form

Within moments and to the delight of the local supporters, his mask celebration borrowed from the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was given another airing after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. All players in the world need one thing: their state of mind to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to build resilience to succeed in his chosen profession. Criticised after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in top-level football, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his career. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He achieved an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has added a new layer in attack, even if the chances have not come to him.

Key Moments

This was clearly apparent during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared closely contested. There was a feeling 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 bounced on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the air of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is highly seasoned at this level 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 must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to secure the signing.

Relentless Effort

Yet having drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres made contact 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 wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his opening chance.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the breakthrough would never come. But the dam burst when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the masked striker left his imprint. “Ideally this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.