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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that each Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then possibly they will reflect on this night as the juncture his fortune changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it doesn’t matter how they find the net.

On the back of nine matches for club and country without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range 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 Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the stadium crowd, his mask celebration inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “attention came only with the disguise,” was showcased again after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this level. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to build resilience to make it in his chosen profession. Admonished after a subpar outing by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed in top-level football, he ultimately switched from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “absent.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his goal conversion. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his complete game has provided additional depth in offense, even if the openings have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this top-level clash between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress 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 opening five minutes was created by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his opponent, José María Giménez.

The defender has the aura of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

Yet having drawn comments that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him 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 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 weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have seemed as if the opening goal would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the man in the mask announced his presence. “With any luck this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.