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Should Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that all Arsenal followers have been praying for, then maybe they will look back on this night as the moment his luck turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it doesn’t matter how they find the net.

After a run of nine matches for club and country without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man signed for £64m in the summer, a huge wave of relief washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a ricochet off David Hancko during a electrifying second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they mean business this season.

Stunning Reversal in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the home faithful, his Bane-inspired gesture modeled after the character 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 finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Things are very different. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their psychological state to be at its optimum. I told Viktor in our introductory chat that the striker I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient 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 strong confidence in him.”

Youthful Struggles

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to toughen up to thrive in his selected career. Admonished after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to make it in top-level football, he ultimately switched from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I still remember it today,” he said recently.

Testing Period

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is clearly not his finishing. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this top-level clash between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he bustled about like a bull in a china shop during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was originated from some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that skillfully evaded from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the aura of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced 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 likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to secure the signing.

Relentless Effort

However having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker pursued each opportunity as if his career hung in the balance. 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 goal ruled out for offside after finishing Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his opening chance.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have felt like the breakthrough would never come. But the dam burst when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.