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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the attacker that all Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then maybe they will recall this night as the juncture his fortune shifted. According to the classic forward’s saying, it makes no difference how they find the net.

Following a streak 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 huge wave of relief swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home 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.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Shortly after and to the delight of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta celebrated wildly and gestured animatedly in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to change contexts and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Things are very different. Every footballer globally need one thing: their mental condition to be at its best. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Formative Hurdles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to succeed in his selected career. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in top-level football, he ultimately switched from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said not long ago.

Challenging Spell

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his career. Gyökeres was widely panned 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 achieved an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the issue is obviously not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has added a new layer in attack, even if the chances have not fallen his way.

Key Moments

This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he bustled about like a bull in a china shop during the early stages. 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 cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the aura of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is highly seasoned at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

Yet having drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an hesitant shot towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the breakthrough would not arrive. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the forward with the disguise made his mark. “Ideally this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.