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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that every Arsenal fans have been wishing for, then possibly they will reflect on this night as the moment his fortune turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it doesn’t matter how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and expectations rising on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from point-blank via a ricochet off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they are here to compete this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine modeled after the character Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “I was ignored before the mask,” was given another airing after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition 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 previous 14 days insisting the peak performance awaited.

“This is football, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to change contexts and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not suited at this standard. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Formative Hurdles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to succeed in his vocation. Criticised after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to make it in top-level football, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Testing Period

Goal-shy since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his career. Gyökeres was heavily criticised 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 “absent.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his goal conversion. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in offense, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was certainly in evidence during the opening period of this elite matchup between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he charged around like a force of nature during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was set up by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

The defender has the air of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is deeply knowledgeable at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to persuading Arteta to secure the signing.

Relentless Effort

However having drawn comments that he was out of shape after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have appeared that the breakthrough would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the masked striker left his imprint. “Ideally this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.