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If Viktor Gyökeres develops into the striker that all Arsenal supporters have been hoping for, then perhaps they will look back on this night as the moment his fortune turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, 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 scrutiny increasing on the man signed for £64m in the offseason, a huge wave of relief swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a deflection off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are serious contenders this season.

Remarkable Shift in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the home faithful, his mask celebration modeled after the villain Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was repeated once more after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta celebrated wildly and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the peak performance awaited.

“That’s the game, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Situations are not the same. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Failing that, you’re not suited 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 southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his chosen profession. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in elite soccer, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I think about it often,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the victory against Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his career. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is obviously not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his all‑round play has provided additional depth in the final third, even if the chances have not come to him.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this top-level clash between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he ran aggressively like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was originated from some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is deeply knowledgeable at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to convincing Arteta to take the plunge.

Relentless Effort

Yet having faced scrutiny that he was carrying a few too many pounds after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker pursued each opportunity as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his opening chance.

A exquisite touch 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 seemed as if the breakthrough would never come. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the man in the mask made his mark. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.