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

After a run of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and expectations rising on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the close season, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from point-blank via a glance off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Shortly after and to the delight of the local supporters, his face-covering routine inspired by the character Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase 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. From the technical area, Arteta punched the air and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we can’t expect 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. “Circumstances vary greatly. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our first meeting that the No 9 I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to build resilience to make it in his selected career. Criticised after a disappointing display by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to make it in elite soccer, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his career. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “invisible.”

He recorded an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is obviously not his scoring ability. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in the final third, even if the opportunities have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed well-balanced. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress 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 clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

Nevertheless having attracted criticism that he was overweight after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker pursued each opportunity as if his life depended on it. Giménez was tricked into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out 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 exquisite touch from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the breakthrough would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.