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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that every Arsenal supporters have been hoping for, then maybe they will look back on this night as the juncture his destiny turned around. 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 scrutiny increasing on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the summer, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his mask celebration inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was showcased again after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we must not assume a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” 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 mental condition to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not cut out at this standard. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to toughen up to succeed in his vocation. Admonished after a subpar outing by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed 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 still remember it today,” he said not long ago.

Testing Period

Goal-shy since the win over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his time in football. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is obviously not his scoring ability. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his all‑round play has provided additional depth in attack, even if the opportunities have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the initial 45 minutes of this top-level clash between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to stand out as he charged around like a bull in a china shop during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the initial stages was originated from some quick moves 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 start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this level 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 probably significantly contributed to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

However having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker pursued each opportunity as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres made contact 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 wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have appeared that the opening goal would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker left his imprint. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.