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Should Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that each Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the point his destiny changed. According to the classic forward’s saying, it makes no difference how they find the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a massive sense of release engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from point-blank via a ricochet off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are here to compete this season.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Shortly after and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “I was ignored before the mask,” was given another airing after bundling over 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 previous 14 days insisting the peak performance awaited.

“This is football, and we must not assume a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Things are very different. Every footballer globally need one thing: their mental condition to be at its best. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not suited at this level. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to make it in his selected career. Criticised after a disappointing display by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to excel in elite soccer, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I recall it now,” he said in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his time in football. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his finishing. As the manager has often noted, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a force of nature during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was created by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the reputation of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced 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 must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was out of shape after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker pursued each opportunity as if his life depended on it. Giménez was drawn 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 goal ruled out for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch 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 appeared that the first score would never come. 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 made his mark. “Ideally this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.