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Should Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that every Arsenal fans have been praying for, then maybe they will reflect on this night as the point his fortune shifted. According to the classic forward’s saying, it doesn’t matter how they hit the back of the net.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and expectations rising on the man signed for £64m in the offseason, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from point-blank via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are serious contenders this season.

Stunning Reversal in Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on 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 punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we must not assume a player to change contexts and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Situations are not the same. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our first meeting that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough 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 located in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to toughen up to thrive in his vocation. Criticised after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in professional play, he ultimately switched from a flank attacker 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

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his time in football. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were overcome 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 astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is obviously not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Game Analysis

This was certainly in evidence during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was trying too hard to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

The defender has the air of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is deeply knowledgeable at this standard 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 must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

However having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a booking when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. Then it must have felt like the first score would elude him. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker left his imprint. “With any luck this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.