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If Viktor Gyökeres goes on to become the forward that every Arsenal supporters have been praying for, then perhaps they will reflect on this night as the moment his luck turned around. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it isn’t important how they find the net.

After a run of nine matches for club and country without a goal and scrutiny increasing on the man acquired for a hefty fee in the close season, a massive sense of release swept over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres tapped in from close range via a deflection off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side demonstrated once more that they are here to compete this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Shortly after and to the joy of the home faithful, his mask celebration borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “attention came only with the disguise,” was showcased again after forcing home from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. On the sidelines, Arteta punched the air and signaled enthusiastically in the direction of his star striker, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we shouldn’t anticipate 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 prior to the match. “Circumstances vary greatly. Every footballer globally need one thing: their psychological state to be at its best. I informed Viktor in our initial discussion that the center forward I sought for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not cut out at this level. That’s why I have a great belief in him.”

Early Challenges

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s southside districts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to build resilience to thrive in his vocation. Rebuked after a disappointing display by a coach who said he was not mentally equipped to make it in elite soccer, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I think about it often,” he said not long ago.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the win over Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the hardest times of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, 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 problem is evidently not his goal conversion. In line with the coach’s repeated comments, his overall contribution 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 closely contested. There was a impression that Gyökeres was trying too hard to impress as he charged around like a disruptive presence during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the initial stages was created by some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his opponent, José María Giménez.

The Uruguayan has the air of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is highly seasoned at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is participating in just his second Champions League campaign after bagging a triple for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to influencing Arteta to secure the signing.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having drawn comments that he was out of shape after sitting out the buildup in Portugal, Arsenal’s considerably trimmer striker harried all opponents as if his future was at stake. Giménez was tricked into conceding a caution 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 tapping in 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 weak effort towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the first score would not arrive. But the goals flowed when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise made his mark. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.