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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that each Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then possibly they will recall this night as the moment his fortune shifted. According to the classic forward’s saying, it doesn’t matter how they hit the back of the net.

After a run of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and pressure mounting on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the close season, a tremendous feeling of ease engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a ricochet off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are serious contenders this season.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Shortly after and to the delight of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was given another airing after bundling over 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 motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the peak performance awaited.

“Such is soccer, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Circumstances vary greatly. Every footballer globally need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the center forward I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Formative Hurdles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to build resilience to thrive in his vocation. Rebuked after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in top-level football, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Challenging Spell

Having failed to score since the victory against Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his time in football. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten 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 astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has provided additional depth in offense, even if the chances have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he charged around like a disruptive presence during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is highly seasoned at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to influencing Arteta to secure the signing.

Relentless Effort

Yet having drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked into conceding a caution when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. At that stage it must have felt like the first score would never come. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the man in the mask made his mark. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.