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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres develops into the attacker that every Arsenal fans have been wishing for, then maybe they will look back on this night as the point his destiny turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they go in.

On the back of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range via a ricochet off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are here to compete this season.

Remarkable Shift in Luck

Within moments and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was given another airing after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta punched the air and motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I told Viktor in our introductory chat that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Failing that, you’re not good enough at this standard. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to toughen up to thrive in his vocation. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in elite soccer, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

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 professional life. Gyökeres was heavily criticised 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 remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the issue is clearly not his finishing. As the manager has often noted, his all‑round play has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the openings have not come to him.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked evenly matched. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was trying too hard to make an impact as he bustled about like a force of nature during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his marker, José María Giménez.

The defender has the reputation of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to make the move.

Constant Hustle

However having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was fooled into conceding a booking when Gyökeres ran into 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 only came in the second half that the Swede had his opening chance.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the first score would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the man in the mask announced his presence. “Ideally this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.