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Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that each Arsenal followers have been praying for, then possibly they will look back on this night as the juncture his destiny changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it isn’t important how they go in.

After a run of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from point-blank via a deflection off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are here to compete this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the villain Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “I was ignored before the mask,” was repeated once more 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 celebrated wildly and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Circumstances vary greatly. All players in the world need one thing: their state of mind to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Failing that, you’re not good enough at this level. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his vocation. Rebuked after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in professional play, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his time in football. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the previous 14 days, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in attack, even if the chances have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this top-level clash between two teams that had initially seemed well-balanced. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to stand out as he charged around like a bull in a china shop during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the initial stages was originated from some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is highly seasoned at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

Yet having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker pursued each opportunity as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a yellow card 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 set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have seemed as if the breakthrough would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.