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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that every Arsenal followers have been praying for, then maybe they will recall this night as the point his fortune shifted. 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 Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and expectations rising on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from near distance via a ricochet off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Fortune

Within moments and to the excitement of the home faithful, his face-covering routine borrowed from the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on 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 raised his fists and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“That’s the game, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Situations are not the same. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its optimum. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the center forward I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not suited at this level. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Early Challenges

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his vocation. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed in professional play, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I still remember it today,” he said in a recent interview.

Challenging Spell

Having failed to score since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his time in football. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten 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 incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has added a new layer in offense, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

Key Moments

This was certainly in evidence during the initial 45 minutes of this top-level clash between two teams that had at first appeared well-balanced. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the air of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is highly seasoned at this level 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 must have gone a long way to persuading Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

However having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an hesitant shot towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the breakthrough would never come. But the goals flowed when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the man in the mask made his mark. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.