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Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the attacker that all Arsenal supporters have been hoping for, then maybe they will look back on this night as the juncture his luck changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

After a run of nine matches for club and country 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 guided in from close range via a deflection off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are serious contenders this season.

Stunning Reversal in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine modeled after the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase 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. From the technical area, Arteta raised his fists and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the peak performance awaited.

“Such is soccer, 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 ahead of the fixture. “Situations are not the same. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally 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 recognized he would have to toughen up to thrive in his selected career. Criticised after a disappointing display by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to make it in elite soccer, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Goal-shy since the victory against Nottingham Forest here 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 previous 14 days, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his goal conversion. As the manager has often noted, his overall contribution has added a new layer in attack, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the first half of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed well-balanced. There was a sense that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the aura of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced at this standard 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

However having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. 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 tapping in 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 promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. Then it must have seemed as if the breakthrough would elude him. But the dam burst when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker announced his presence. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.