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Should Viktor Gyökeres develops into the forward that each Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then maybe they will reflect on this night as the juncture his luck changed. According to the classic forward’s saying, it isn’t important how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for his team and national side without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the close season, a tremendous feeling of ease washed over the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres scuffed home from near distance via a glance off David Hancko during a pulsating second half when Mikel Arteta’s side proved yet again that they are serious contenders this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Less than three minutes later and to the delight of the local supporters, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from the antagonist Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “attention came only with the disguise,” was repeated once more after bundling over from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to complete the rout against Atlético Madrid. From the technical area, Arteta celebrated wildly and motioned emphatically in the direction of his recent signing, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the peak performance awaited.

“Such is soccer, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager said in an interview with the Spanish newspaper Marca before this game. “Things are very different. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I wanted for 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 tier. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Early Challenges

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first recognized he would have to develop a thick skin to succeed in his chosen profession. Rebuked after a poor performance by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to succeed in elite soccer, he was eventually transformed from a winger into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said in a recent interview.

Difficult Phase

Goal-shy since the victory against Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper characterizing his outing against the latter as “invisible.”

He recorded an astounding 54 goals in 52 appearances throughout the season for Sporting last season, so the difficulty is evidently not his scoring ability. As Arteta has frequently pointed out, his complete game has given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the opportunities have not come to him.

Game Analysis

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had at first appeared evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was pressing too much to make an impact as he charged around like a bull in a china shop during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was created by some quick moves on the edge of the Atlético area that niftily took him away from his marker, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the aura of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is deeply knowledgeable 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 must have gone a long way to persuading Arteta to make the move.

Relentless Effort

However having attracted criticism that he was out of shape after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker pursued each opportunity as if his life depended on it. Giménez was fooled into conceding a booking when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having simply held his position. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after finishing 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 swiftly block an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. Then it must have seemed as if the first score would not arrive. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel headed home Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.