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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that every Arsenal fans have been praying for, then possibly they will recall this night as the point his luck shifted. According to the classic forward’s saying, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease 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 proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Shortly after and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “I was ignored before the mask,” was repeated once more after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta raised his fists and motioned emphatically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Situations are not the same. All players in the world need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the center forward I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to make it in his chosen profession. 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 comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Without a goal 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 defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the problem is obviously not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has provided additional depth in attack, even if the openings have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a impression 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 glanced 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 defender has the air of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is highly seasoned at this stage 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 likely played a key role to influencing Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

Yet having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked 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 effort disallowed for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that stage it must have felt like the breakthrough would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the man in the mask made his mark. “Ideally this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.