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Should Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the striker that all Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the point his destiny shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and pressure mounting on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the close season, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a deflection off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they are serious contenders this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the home faithful, his mask celebration inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was showcased again after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta raised his fists and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the peak performance awaited.

“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Situations are not the same. Every footballer globally need one thing: their state of mind to be at its optimum. I advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the center forward I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. If not, you’re not suited at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

It was as a 14-year-old playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to toughen up to thrive in his chosen profession. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in top-level football, he ended up being converted from a wide player into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Goal-shy since the victory against Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his professional life. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were overcome 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 managed an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in the final third, even if the opportunities have not come to him.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this elite matchup between two teams that had originally looked well-balanced. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was pressing too much to stand out as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was created by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his marker, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the reputation of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is highly seasoned at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just 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 convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn into conceding a caution 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 did not happen until later that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke 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 man in the mask made his mark. “With any luck this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.