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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the striker that every Arsenal followers have been wishing for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the point his luck shifted. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it isn’t important how they find the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and pressure mounting on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the close season, a massive sense of release washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in 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.

Remarkable Shift in Form

Less than three minutes later and to the excitement of the stadium crowd, his Bane-inspired gesture inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was showcased again after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta celebrated wildly and motioned emphatically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the past two weeks insisting the best was yet to come.

“That’s the game, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to change contexts and have him perform identically right away,” the Arsenal manager stated in a discussion with the Spanish newspaper Marca ahead of the fixture. “Things are very different. Every footballer globally need one thing: their state of mind to be at its optimum. I told Viktor in our introductory chat that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they went six or eight games without scoring. Failing that, you’re not cut out at this tier. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Early Challenges

When he was just 14 playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his chosen profession. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he lacked the mindset 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 recall it now,” he said in a recent interview.

Challenging Spell

Goal-shy since the triumph over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his professional life. Gyökeres was heavily criticised after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “unnoticeable.”

He recorded an incredible 54 goals in 52 appearances across all competitions for Sporting last season, so the problem is clearly not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has added a new layer in the final third, even if the opportunities have not fallen his way.

Key Moments

This was certainly in evidence during the opening period of this elite matchup between two teams that had at first appeared well-balanced. There was a impression that Gyökeres was pressing too much to impress as he bustled about like a force of nature during the beginning phase. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was originated from some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the reputation of a man who could start a fight in an empty bar but is vastly experienced at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is playing in only his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to convincing Arteta to make the move.

Constant Hustle

However having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was tricked into conceding a booking when Gyökeres made contact on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his opening chance.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the opening goal would not arrive. But the dam burst when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Ideally this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.