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If Viktor Gyökeres develops into the attacker that every Arsenal followers have been praying for, then possibly they will look back on this night as the moment his luck changed. According to the classic forward’s saying, it isn’t important how they find the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and pressure mounting on the man signed for £64m in the summer, a huge wave of relief washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a ricochet off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Fortune

Within moments and to the delight of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture inspired by the character Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was showcased again after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we must not assume a player to change contexts and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Situations are not the same. Every footballer globally need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the center forward I desired at Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this level. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Formative Hurdles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to toughen up to succeed in his vocation. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in professional play, he was eventually transformed from a wide player into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Challenging Spell

Having failed to score since the win over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his career. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He recorded an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the problem is evidently not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has given Arsenal an extra dimension in the final third, even if the chances have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was plainly visible during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he ran aggressively like a force of nature during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was originated from some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his defender, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the aura of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is deeply knowledgeable at this stage 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 influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Relentless Effort

However having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents as if his life depended on it. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an weak effort towards goal. At that stage it must have appeared that the breakthrough would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the man in the mask left his imprint. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.