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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that each Arsenal followers have been praying for, then perhaps they will recall this night as the moment his fortune changed. 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 expectations rising on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from near distance via a deflection off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the joy of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the character Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was showcased again after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the peak performance awaited.

“That’s the game, and we must not assume a player to change contexts 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. All players in the world need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the No 9 I sought for 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.”

Youthful Struggles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to toughen up to succeed in his chosen profession. Criticised 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 winger into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “invisible.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has added a new layer in the final third, even if the chances have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was certainly in evidence during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed well-balanced. There was a sense that Gyökeres was trying too hard to impress as he ran aggressively like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was originated from some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the air of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is deeply knowledgeable at this stage compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was overweight after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking 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 only came in the second half that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have appeared that the opening goal would never come. But the dam burst when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker made his mark. “Ideally this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.