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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the attacker that all Arsenal fans have been praying for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the juncture his destiny shifted. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it doesn’t matter how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and pressure mounting on the man signed for £64m in the summer, a massive sense of release washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a deflection off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are here to compete this season.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the joy of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture inspired by the villain 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 seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta raised his fists and gestured animatedly in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the peak performance awaited.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Things are very different. Every footballer globally need one thing: their mental condition to be at its optimum. I advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Failing that, you’re not good enough at this standard. 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 southside districts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his chosen profession. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in professional play, 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 in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Without a goal since the victory against Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his career. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the issue is obviously not his goal conversion. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his all‑round play has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

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 feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he charged around like a bull in a china shop during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The defender has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is deeply knowledgeable at this stage compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only 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 make the move.

Constant Hustle

Yet having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner 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 merely stood his ground. 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 first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the opening goal would never come. But the goals flowed when Gabriel nodded in 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.