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If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that every Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then possibly they will look back on this night as the point his destiny changed. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it isn’t important how they find the net.

After a run of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and expectations rising on the man signed for £64m in the close season, a huge wave of relief swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from close range via a ricochet off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are here to compete this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Within moments and to the delight of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the character Bane in Batman, whose signature quote 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 finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta raised his fists and motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our introductory chat that the striker I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this standard. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to toughen up to succeed in his selected career. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to excel in professional play, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his career. Gyökeres was heavily criticised 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 “unnoticeable.”

He managed an remarkable 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 offense, even if the chances have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the first half of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared closely contested. There was a impression 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 first few moments was created by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is highly seasoned at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to persuading Arteta to secure the signing.

Constant Hustle

However having faced scrutiny that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker harried all opponents as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the opening goal would not arrive. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Ideally this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.