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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that every Arsenal fans have been hoping for, then perhaps they will recall this night as the point his luck changed. As the old striker’s mantra goes, it doesn’t matter how they find the net.

On the back of nine matches for Arsenal and Sweden without a goal and expectations rising on the man signed for £64m in the offseason, a tremendous feeling of ease engulfed the Emirates Stadium when Gyökeres guided in from close range via a deflection off David Hancko during a thrilling second half when Mikel Arteta’s side showed again that they mean business this season.

Remarkable Shift in Fortune

Within moments and to the excitement of the stadium crowd, his Bane-inspired gesture inspired by the villain Bane in Batman, whose signature quote is “attention came only with the disguise,” was repeated once more after forcing home 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 last fortnight insisting the finest displays lay ahead.

“That’s the game, and we can’t expect a player to move leagues and have him do the same thing instantly,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation 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 best. I informed Viktor in our first meeting that the striker I wanted for Arsenal was someone who could stay resilient when they went six or eight games without scoring. If not, you’re not cut out at this standard. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Youthful Struggles

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are situated in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first realised he would have to develop a thick skin to make it in his chosen profession. Criticised after a subpar outing by a coach who said he didn’t have the mentality to excel in top-level football, he ultimately switched from a flank attacker into a striker after signing for Brommapojkarna two years later. “That comment resonated and I recall it now,” he said recently.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the victory against Nottingham Forest here back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his professional life. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were beaten by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the past fortnight, with one newspaper labeling his display against the latter as “invisible.”

He achieved an remarkable 54 goals in 52 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting last season, so the issue is clearly not his goal conversion. As the manager has often noted, his all‑round play has added a new layer in attack, even if the chances have not come to him.

Match Highlights

This was clearly apparent during the first half of this high‑quality encounter between two teams that had originally looked closely contested. There was a feeling that Gyökeres was overexerting himself to make an impact as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that bounced on to the bar inside the opening five minutes was created by some clever dribbling on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his defender, José María Giménez.

The defender has the reputation of a man who could provoke conflict anywhere but is vastly experienced at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after netting three goals for Sporting against Manchester City last season that likely played a key role to persuading Arteta to secure the signing.

Constant Hustle

Yet having attracted criticism that he was overweight after being absent for preparations in Portugal, Arsenal’s noticeably leaner striker chased down every ball as if his life depended on it. Giménez was drawn into conceding a caution when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having only been stationary. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it wasn’t until after the break that the Swede had his first sight of goal.

A sumptuous flick from Martinelli set Gyökeres up perfectly, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an weak effort towards goal. Then it must have appeared that the breakthrough would elude him. But the dam burst when Gabriel scored with a header Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was able to take full advantage as the forward with the disguise left his imprint. “With any luck this is the commencement of a prolific period,” said a delighted Arteta.