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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the attacker that all Arsenal followers have been hoping for, then possibly they will recall this night as the juncture his luck turned around. According to the classic forward’s saying, it doesn’t matter how they go in.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a ricochet off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Stunning Reversal in Fortune

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the home faithful, his mask celebration borrowed from the character 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 finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta punched the air and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“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 stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Things are very different. All players in the world need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I told Viktor in our first meeting that the No 9 I desired at Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not good enough at this standard. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Early Challenges

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 vocation. Rebuked after a subpar outing by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to succeed in professional play, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Testing Period

Goal-shy since the triumph over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his time in football. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked 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 “invisible.”

He recorded an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his scoring ability. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the openings have not fallen his way.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he bustled about like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the initial stages was originated from some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his defender, José María Giménez.

The defender has the air of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced 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.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having faced scrutiny that he was overweight after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a booking 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 converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli created an ideal chance, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the opening goal would elude him. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker announced his presence. “With any luck this is the beginning of a great run,” said a delighted Arteta.