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If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that every Arsenal followers have been hoping for, then maybe they will recall this night as the juncture his destiny turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they go in.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and expectations rising on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are serious contenders this season.

Remarkable Shift in Luck

Shortly after and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “I was ignored before the mask,” was repeated once more after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta raised his fists and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him replicate his form immediately,” 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 state of mind to be at its optimum. I advised Viktor in our first meeting that the No 9 I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this level. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to succeed in his chosen profession. Rebuked after a disappointing display by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in top-level football, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Challenging Spell

Without a goal since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his career. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “invisible.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the problem is evidently not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the chances have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was trying too hard to impress as he charged around like a force of nature during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the reputation of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is deeply knowledgeable at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to convincing Arteta to secure the signing.

Unyielding Drive

However having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn 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 goal ruled out for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. At that stage it must have felt like the first score would not arrive. 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. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.