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Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that every Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then possibly they will reflect on this night as the juncture his luck 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 pressure mounting on the man signed for £64m in the offseason, a huge wave of relief washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Stunning Reversal in Form

Shortly after and to the excitement of the home faithful, his face-covering routine borrowed from the character Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta celebrated wildly and gestured animatedly in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this standard. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to toughen up to make it in his vocation. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in top-level football, he ultimately switched from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

Goal-shy since the victory against Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times 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 characterizing his outing against the latter as “absent.”

He achieved an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the problem is obviously not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has added a new layer in the final third, even if the openings have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the first half 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 stand out as he charged around like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The defender has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced 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 convincing Arteta to secure the signing.

Relentless Effort

Yet having drawn comments that he was overweight after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker pursued each opportunity as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his opening chance.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. Then it must have seemed as if the opening goal would elude him. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the man in the mask left his imprint. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.