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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that all Arsenal fans have been praying for, then perhaps they will look back on this night as the moment his luck changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it isn’t important how they find the net.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the close season, a massive sense of release engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from point-blank via a deflection off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the joy of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the character Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “I was ignored before the mask,” was showcased again after forcing home 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 gestured animatedly 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 shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their state of mind to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Early Challenges

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his selected career. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in elite soccer, he was eventually transformed from a wide player into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his finishing. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this elite matchup between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was trying too hard to make an impact as he bustled about like a bull in a china shop during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the first few moments was originated from some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his opponent, José María Giménez.

The defender has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is deeply knowledgeable 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 likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was overweight after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was fooled into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled 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 provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage 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 ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise announced his presence. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.