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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that all Arsenal followers have been praying for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the point his luck turned around. According to the classic forward’s saying, 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 brought in for a substantial sum in the close season, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from near distance via a ricochet off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Stunning Reversal in Form

Shortly after and to the excitement of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the villain Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was given another airing after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta raised his fists and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the peak performance awaited.

“This is football, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Situations are not the same. All players in the world need one thing: their state of mind to be at its optimum. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the No 9 I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Failing that, you’re not suited at this standard. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Early Challenges

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to build resilience to make it in his vocation. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to excel in elite soccer, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” 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 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 “absent.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his finishing. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the chances have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away 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 standard compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

Yet having drawn comments that he was overweight after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. 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 goal ruled out for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an hesitant shot towards goal. Then it must have appeared that the first score would elude him. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the forward with the disguise made his mark. “Ideally this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.