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Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that every Arsenal supporters have been hoping for, then possibly they will look back on this night as the juncture his luck shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it isn’t important how they hit the back of the net.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and expectations rising on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the close season, a tremendous feeling of ease engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from near distance via a deflection off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Remarkable Shift in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the local supporters, his face-covering routine modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “I was ignored before the mask,” was repeated once more after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta raised his fists and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the peak performance awaited.

“That’s the game, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Circumstances vary greatly. Every footballer globally need one thing: their state of mind to be at its best. I told Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I sought for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Failing that, you’re not good enough at this level. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to succeed in his selected career. Admonished after a poor performance by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to excel in elite soccer, 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 not long ago.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his career. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “absent.”

He recorded an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the problem is evidently not his finishing. As the manager has often noted, his all‑round play has given Arsenal an extra dimension in the final third, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a bull in a china shop during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by 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 aura of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is deeply knowledgeable at this level 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 persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was out of shape after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker pursued each opportunity as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled 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 brilliant pass from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the first score would elude him. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the man in the mask made his mark. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.