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In the event that Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that each Arsenal supporters have been hoping for, then maybe they will recall this night as the moment his luck changed. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it doesn’t matter how they find the net.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from point-blank via a glance off David Hancko during a thrilling 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 mask celebration modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “I was ignored before the mask,” was showcased again after kneeing in 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 recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“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 before this game. “Circumstances vary greatly. Every footballer globally need one thing: their state of mind to be at its peak. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I sought for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out 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 recognized he would have to build resilience to succeed in his selected career. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in top-level football, he ended up being converted from a wide player into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I think about it often,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Goal-shy since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his professional life. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “absent.”

He recorded an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

Key Moments

This was certainly in evidence during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared well-balanced. There was a impression that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was set up by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the aura of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to influencing Arteta to secure the signing.

Relentless Effort

However having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his future was at stake. Giménez was fooled into conceding a caution when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his opening chance.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. Then it must have seemed as if the first score would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the man in the mask announced his presence. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.