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Should Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the forward that every Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then perhaps they will look back on this night as the juncture his destiny changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

On the back of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and expectations rising on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the offseason, a massive sense of release swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a ricochet off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Fortune

Shortly after and to the excitement of the local supporters, his face-covering routine modeled after the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was given another airing after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” 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 peak. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to toughen up to thrive in his vocation. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to excel in professional play, he ended up being converted from a wide player into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I still remember it today,” he said in a recent interview.

Challenging Spell

Without a goal since the win over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his time in football. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “invisible.”

He managed an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the issue is obviously not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has added a new layer in attack, even if the openings have not come to him.

Key Moments

This was certainly in evidence during the opening period of this elite matchup between two teams that had originally looked well-balanced. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he bustled about like a force of nature during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his opponent, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the air 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 bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

However having drawn comments that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker pursued each opportunity as if his future was at stake. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. 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 first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an hesitant shot towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the opening goal would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker left his imprint. “Ideally this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.