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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that every Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then maybe they will reflect on this night as the point his destiny turned around. According to the classic forward’s saying, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

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 massive sense of release washed over 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 mean business this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the joy of the local supporters, his face-covering routine modeled after the character Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was showcased again after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta raised his fists and gestured animatedly in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. All players in the world need one thing: their mental condition to be at its best. I advised Viktor in our first meeting that the center forward I desired at Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Formative Hurdles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to thrive in his chosen profession. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in professional play, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said not long ago.

Challenging Spell

Having failed to score since the triumph over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his career. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “absent.”

He achieved an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the issue is evidently not his scoring ability. As the manager has often noted, his complete game has provided additional depth in attack, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was certainly in evidence during the first half of this top-level clash between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the initial stages was created by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere 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 likely played a key role to influencing Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

Yet having faced scrutiny that he was out of shape after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked into conceding a caution when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A exquisite touch from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. At that stage 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 able to take full advantage as the forward with the disguise made his mark. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.