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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that all Arsenal followers have been wishing for, then possibly they will look back on this night as the moment his fortune changed. According to the classic forward’s saying, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

On the back 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 offseason, a massive sense of release washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a deflection 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 Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the home faithful, his mask celebration inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta raised his fists and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his recent signing, 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 change contexts and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our introductory chat that the center forward I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this standard. 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 based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his vocation. Rebuked after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in top-level football, he ended up being converted from a wide player into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Goal-shy since the win over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his career. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “invisible.”

He managed an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the issue is evidently not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the opportunities have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was certainly in evidence during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked evenly matched. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he bustled about like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the initial stages was created by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is deeply knowledgeable at this stage 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 likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

Yet having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked 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 attempt canceled for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. Then it must have felt like the opening goal would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise announced his presence. “Hopefully this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.