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If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that every Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then possibly they will recall this night as the moment his destiny turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it isn’t important how they hit the back of the net.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man signed for £64m in the summer, a huge wave of relief swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from point-blank via a glance off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are serious contenders this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Within moments and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “I was ignored before the mask,” was repeated once more after kneeing in 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 previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, 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 ahead of the fixture. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they faced a goal drought without scoring. If not, you’re not suited at this level. That’s why I have a great belief 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 realised he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his vocation. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed in elite soccer, he was eventually transformed from a wide player into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London 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 last two weeks, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “absent.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the initial 45 minutes of this top-level clash between two teams that had at first appeared well-balanced. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the first few moments was created by some quick moves 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 start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to influencing Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents 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 merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an hesitant shot towards goal. At that point it must have seemed as if the first score would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the masked striker left his imprint. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.