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If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the attacker that every Arsenal followers have been wishing for, then maybe they will look back on this night as the point his destiny shifted. In keeping with the timeless attacker’s creed, it makes no difference how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man signed for £64m in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided 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.

Dramatic Turnaround in Form

Shortly after and to the delight of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture inspired by the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was showcased again after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to finish the demolition against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta raised his fists and gestured animatedly in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“Such is soccer, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to change contexts and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Things are very different. Every footballer globally need one thing: their psychological state to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could remain strong psychologically when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not suited at this standard. 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 understood he would have to build resilience to succeed in his chosen profession. Admonished 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 moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “Those words lingered and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Testing Period

Without a goal since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the most testing periods of his time in football. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were defeated by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “invisible.”

He managed an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the problem is obviously not his scoring ability. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his all‑round play has given Arsenal an extra dimension in offense, even if the openings have not been in his favor.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the opening period of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had initially seemed evenly matched. There was a sense that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to impress as he charged around like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was originated from some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is deeply knowledgeable at this level compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to influencing Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

However having drawn comments that he was overweight after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked into conceding a caution when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his attempt canceled 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 exquisite touch from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to promptly save an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have seemed as if the opening goal would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was perfectly positioned to benefit as the masked striker left his imprint. “With any luck this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.