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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that every Arsenal followers have been hoping for, then perhaps they will recall this night as the point his fortune shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the close season, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a glance off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they are serious contenders this season.

Stunning Reversal in Fortune

Shortly after and to the excitement of the local supporters, his face-covering routine inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more 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 celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Situations are not the same. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our introductory chat that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Failing that, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Early Challenges

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 build resilience to succeed in his selected career. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed in top-level football, he was eventually transformed from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I think about it often,” he said not long ago.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the victory against 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 overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is obviously not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the openings have not come to him.

Game Analysis

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was trying too hard to make an impact as he charged around like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was originated from some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the aura 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 make the move.

Unyielding Drive

However having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker pursued each opportunity as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a caution when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. Then it must have felt like the first score would not arrive. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the masked striker made his mark. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.