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If Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that every Arsenal followers have been hoping for, then maybe they will look back on this night as the juncture his destiny changed. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference how they find the net.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a massive sense of release engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from point-blank via a deflection off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are serious contenders this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the local supporters, his mask celebration modeled after the character Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was given another airing after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta punched the air and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to change contexts 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. Every footballer globally need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I told Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Formative Hurdles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to build resilience to make it in his vocation. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to excel in professional play, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said in a recent interview.

Difficult Phase

Without a goal since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his time in football. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He achieved an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the problem is obviously not his scoring ability. As the manager has often noted, his overall contribution has added a new layer in attack, even if the opportunities have not been in his favor.

Match Highlights

This was certainly in evidence during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed well-balanced. There was a sense that Gyökeres was trying too hard to make an impact as he bustled about like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the first few moments was originated from some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his marker, José María Giménez.

The defender has the air 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 netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to secure the signing.

Constant Hustle

Yet having drawn comments that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the opening goal would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the masked striker left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.