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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the attacker that each Arsenal fans have been wishing for, then possibly they will reflect on this night as the point his destiny changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it isn’t important how they find the net.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man signed for £64m in the close season, a massive sense of release swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a deflection off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Shortly after and to the excitement of the home faithful, his mask celebration inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line 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. On the sidelines, Arteta punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the peak performance awaited.

“Such is soccer, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Situations are not the same. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I advised Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this standard. 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 based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to make it in his chosen profession. Admonished after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to make it in professional play, he ultimately switched from a winger into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I still remember it today,” he said not long ago.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the win over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his professional life. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “absent.”

He recorded an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the issue is obviously not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in the final third, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

Key Moments

This was certainly in evidence during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he bustled about like a bull in a china shop during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the reputation of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is deeply knowledgeable 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 convincing Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

However having drawn comments that he was out of shape after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker pursued each opportunity as if his life depended on it. Giménez was tricked into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after converting 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 quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have appeared that the opening goal would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the masked striker announced his presence. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.