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If Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that all Arsenal fans have been praying for, then perhaps they will look back on this night as the moment his luck shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference 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 signed for £64m in the offseason, a huge wave of relief washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from point-blank via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they are here to compete this season.

Stunning Reversal in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the joy of the stadium crowd, his mask celebration modeled after the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose catchphrase is “nobody cared until I put on the mask,” was showcased again after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta punched the air and motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the peak performance awaited.

“This is football, and we must not assume a player to switch environments and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Situations are not the same. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I told Viktor in our initial discussion that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they experienced a dry spell without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not suited 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 located in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to thrive in his vocation. Admonished after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to excel in elite soccer, he ultimately switched from a wide player into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I think about it often,” he said recently.

Challenging Spell

Without a goal since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his career. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his finishing. As the manager has often noted, his complete game has added a new layer in offense, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the first half of this top-level clash between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was trying too hard to impress as he charged around like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the first few moments was set up by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his opponent, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is deeply knowledgeable 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 probably significantly contributed to influencing Arteta to take the plunge.

Constant Hustle

However having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was tricked into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his goal ruled out for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an hesitant shot towards goal. Then it must have seemed as if the first score would never come. But the dam burst when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the man in the mask left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.