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If Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that all Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the moment his luck changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it doesn’t matter how they hit the back of the net.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and expectations rising on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the offseason, a huge wave of relief engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from point-blank via a deflection off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Fortune

Within moments and to the joy of the home faithful, his face-covering routine borrowed from the villain Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “attention came only with the disguise,” was given another airing after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview 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 advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not cut out at this level. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to build resilience to succeed in his chosen profession. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in elite soccer, he ended up being converted from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Goal-shy since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He managed an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is obviously not his goal conversion. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has added a new layer in offense, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced 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 defender, José María Giménez.

The defender has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is highly seasoned at this stage 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 must have gone a long way to influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Relentless Effort

Yet having attracted criticism that he was out of shape 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 collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed 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 swiftly block an hesitant shot towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the first score would elude him. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.