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If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that every Arsenal followers 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 makes no difference how they find the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the offseason, a massive sense of release engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from point-blank via a deflection off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “attention came only with the disguise,” was given another airing after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to switch environments and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Situations are not the same. Every footballer globally need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. If not, you’re not suited at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his chosen profession. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to excel in professional play, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I think about it often,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Goal-shy since the win over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his career. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the problem is evidently not his goal conversion. As the manager has often noted, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the chances have not fallen his way.

Game Analysis

This was certainly in evidence during the first half of this elite matchup between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the initial stages was originated from some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is highly seasoned at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

Yet having faced scrutiny that he was carrying a few too many pounds after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a caution when Gyökeres collided with him 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 only came in the second half that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. Then it must have seemed as if the breakthrough would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the forward with the disguise made his mark. “With any luck this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.