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If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that each Arsenal supporters have been wishing for, then perhaps they will recall this night as the point his destiny 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 club and country without a goal and expectations rising on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over 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 demonstrated once more that they are serious contenders this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Form

Shortly after and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his face-covering routine modeled after the character Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“Such is soccer, and we must not assume 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. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Failing that, you’re not cut out at this level. That’s why I have a lot of faith 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 recognized he would have to build resilience to succeed in his selected career. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to excel in professional play, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I still remember it today,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his time in football. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “absent.”

He recorded an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the issue is evidently not his finishing. As the manager has often noted, his complete game has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the chances have not come to him.

Key Moments

This was certainly in evidence during the opening period of this elite matchup between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to stand out as he bustled about like a force of nature during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was set up by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his marker, José María Giménez.

The defender has the aura of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this stage 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 probably significantly contributed to influencing Arteta to make the move.

Constant Hustle

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an hesitant shot towards goal. At that stage it must have seemed as if the opening goal would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.