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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that every Arsenal supporters have been wishing for, then possibly they will recall this night as the point his fortune shifted. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the offseason, a huge wave of relief washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from near distance via a ricochet off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are here to compete this season.

Stunning Reversal in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the joy of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the villain Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta celebrated wildly and motioned emphatically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. Every footballer globally need one thing: their mental condition to be at its best. I advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not suited at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to build resilience to thrive in his vocation. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in top-level football, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I still remember it today,” he said not long ago.

Challenging Spell

Goal-shy since the win over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his professional life. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “absent.”

He managed an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his scoring ability. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the chances have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the initial 45 minutes of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was trying too hard to stand out as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced 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.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Relentless Effort

Nevertheless having faced scrutiny that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was drawn 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 effort disallowed for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his opening chance.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the first score would elude him. But the dam burst when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the man in the mask made his mark. “Ideally this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.