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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that each Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then possibly they will recall this night as the juncture his luck shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it isn’t important how they go in.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the summer, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the stadium crowd, his mask celebration inspired by the character Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “I was ignored before the mask,” was showcased again after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta raised his fists and motioned emphatically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“Such is soccer, and we must not assume a player to change contexts and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our first meeting that the No 9 I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Early Challenges

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to thrive in his selected career. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in professional play, he ultimately switched from a winger into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Having failed to score 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 widely panned after Sweden were overcome 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 managed an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has provided additional depth in offense, even if the chances have not fallen his way.

Game Analysis

This was certainly in evidence during the first half of this top-level clash between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was trying too hard to impress as he charged around like a bull in a china shop during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the first few moments was created by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his marker, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to convincing Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

Nevertheless having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds 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 tricked into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have seemed as if the breakthrough would not arrive. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the masked striker made his mark. “Ideally this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.