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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the attacker that each Arsenal followers have been wishing for, then possibly they will reflect on this night as the moment his luck turned around. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it isn’t important how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the close season, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from close range via a ricochet off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they are here to compete this season.

Remarkable Shift in Fortune

Within moments and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the villain 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. From the technical area, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to change contexts and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I sought for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Youthful Struggles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to succeed in his chosen profession. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to excel in professional play, he was eventually transformed from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said in a recent interview.

Difficult Phase

Without a goal since the victory against Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his time in football. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “absent.”

He achieved an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the problem is obviously not his finishing. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he charged around like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away 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 highly seasoned at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that must have gone a long way to persuading Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

Yet having faced scrutiny that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker pursued each opportunity 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 effort disallowed for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break 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 hesitant shot towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the opening goal would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the man in the mask made his mark. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.