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If Viktor Gyökeres transforms into the forward that every Arsenal fans have been wishing for, then possibly they will recall this night as the point his destiny changed. According to the classic forward’s saying, it isn’t important how they go in.

Following a streak of nine matches for club and country without a goal and expectations rising on the man signed for £64m in the close season, a huge wave of relief washed 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 proved yet again that they mean business this season.

Dramatic Turnaround in Luck

Shortly after and to the excitement of the home faithful, his face-covering routine borrowed from the villain Bane in Batman, whose famous line is “attention came only with the disguise,” was repeated once more after kneeing in from Gabriel Magalhães’s header following a Declan Rice corner to seal the victory against Atlético Madrid. Down on the touchline, Arteta celebrated wildly and motioned emphatically in the direction of his new centre forward, of whom he has spent the previous 14 days insisting the best was yet to come.

“Such is soccer, and we shouldn’t anticipate a player to change contexts and have him replicate his form immediately,” the Arsenal manager remarked in a conversation with the Spanish newspaper Marca prior to the match. “Circumstances vary greatly. Each athlete anywhere need one thing: their mental condition to be at its best. I advised Viktor in our introductory chat that the No 9 I sought for Arsenal was someone who could hold up mentally when they faced a goal drought without scoring. Otherwise, you’re not good enough at this standard. That’s why I have a lot of faith in him.”

Early Challenges

Back in his early teens playing for IFK Aspudden-Tellus, who are based in Stockholm’s southern suburbs, that Gyökeres first understood he would have to build resilience to succeed in his chosen profession. Admonished after a disappointing display by a coach who said he lacked the mindset to excel in professional play, he was eventually transformed from a flank attacker into a striker after moving to Brommapojkarna two years later. “That one stuck with me and I think about it often,” he said in a recent interview.

Difficult Phase

Having failed to score since the victory against Nottingham Forest at home back on 13 September, this has been one of the toughest stretches of his career. Gyökeres was sharply rebuked after Sweden were overcome by Kosovo and Switzerland in World Cup qualifiers in the last two weeks, with one newspaper describing his performance against the latter as “absent.”

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. As the manager has often noted, his overall contribution has provided additional depth in offense, even if the opportunities have not been in his favor.

Key Moments

This was plainly visible during the initial 45 minutes of this elite matchup between two teams that had initially seemed closely contested. There was a sense that Gyökeres was pressing too much to stand out as he ran aggressively like a disruptive presence during the early stages. An Eberechi Eze shot that glanced on to the bar inside the first few moments was originated from some sharp footwork on the edge of the Atlético area that cleverly escaped from his opponent, José María Giménez.

Giménez has the aura of a man who could create tension effortlessly but is vastly experienced at this standard compared with Gyökeres, who is competing in merely his second Champions League campaign after scoring a hat-trick for Sporting against Manchester City last season that probably significantly contributed to convincing Arteta to make the move.

Unyielding Drive

However having drawn comments that he was overweight after missing most of pre-season in Portugal, Arsenal’s much more svelte-looking striker pursued each opportunity as if his career hung in the balance. Giménez was drawn into conceding a caution when Gyökeres collided with him on the edge of the Atlético area having merely stood his ground. Gabriel Martinelli saw his effort disallowed for offside after converting Bukayo Saka’s cross and it only came in the second half that the Swede had his initial opportunity.

A brilliant pass from Martinelli provided a golden opportunity, only for Jan Oblak to quickly smother an unconvincing toe-poke towards goal. At that point it must have appeared that the opening goal would not arrive. But the floodgates opened when Gabriel nodded in Rice’s free-kick and Gyökeres was ready to capitalize as the masked striker announced his presence. “Hopefully this is the start of some beautiful sequences,” said a delighted Arteta.