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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that each Arsenal followers have been hoping for, then maybe they will recall this night as the juncture his fortune changed. According to the classic forward’s saying, it makes no difference how they find the net.

After a run of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and expectations rising on the man signed for £64m in the summer, a massive sense of release swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from point-blank via a deflection off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Luck

Shortly after and to the delight of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “attention came only with the disguise,” was showcased again after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta celebrated wildly and motioned emphatically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the best was yet to come.

“This is football, and we must not assume a player to switch environments and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Circumstances vary greatly. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they faced a goal drought without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Formative Hurdles

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. Criticised after a disappointing display by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to make it in professional play, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Goal-shy since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his scoring ability. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this elite matchup 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 disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was created by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

The defender has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is deeply knowledgeable at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to influencing Arteta to secure the signing.

Unyielding Drive

However having drawn comments that he was out of shape after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn into conceding a booking when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have seemed as if the opening goal would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.