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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the attacker that every Arsenal supporters have been wishing for, then perhaps they will look back on this night as the point his destiny turned around. According to the classic forward’s saying, it doesn’t matter how they hit the back of the net.

Following a streak of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and pressure mounting on the man brought in for a substantial sum in the summer, a tremendous feeling of ease swept 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.

Remarkable Shift in Luck

Shortly after and to the delight of the stadium crowd, his Bane-inspired gesture borrowed from 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 seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta punched the air and gestured animatedly in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“This is football, and we can’t expect a player to switch environments 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. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its peak. I advised Viktor in our initial discussion that the center forward I desired at Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not good enough at this level. That’s why I have a strong confidence in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are located in Stockholm’s outskirts, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to toughen up to make it in his chosen profession. Criticised after a poor performance by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to succeed in professional play, he ended up being converted from a winger into a striker after joining Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Testing Period

Having failed to score since the win over Nottingham Forest in London back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. Gyökeres was widely panned after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper labeling his display 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 given Arsenal an extra dimension in attack, even if the opportunities have not come to him.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the first half of this top-level clash between two teams that had originally looked evenly matched. There was a impression that Gyökeres was pressing too much to stand out as he ran aggressively like a force of nature during the opening minutes. An Eberechi Eze shot that deflected on to the bar inside the first few moments 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 aura of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this stage 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 persuading Arteta to take the plunge.

Unyielding Drive

Nevertheless having attracted criticism that he was carrying a few too many pounds after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker harried all opponents as if his life depended on it. Giménez was tricked into conceding a yellow card when Gyökeres ran into him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after tapping in Bukayo Saka’s cross and it did not happen until later that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to swiftly block an hesitant shot towards goal. At that stage it must have felt like the opening goal would elude him. But the dam burst when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the forward with the disguise announced his presence. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.