Gabriel Jesus is making a key change to solve Mikel Arteta's Arsenal problem
Gabriel Jesus insists he can handle the expectation of being Arsenal's centre forward - because he has lived with pressure his whole life.
Jesus, 26, has only scored four goals in the Premier League this season and has had to endure the constant talk of Arsenal looking for a new No.9 and the fans urging the club to sign another striker. But Jesus says not only has he had that throughout his career at Manchester City and with Brazil, he has adopted a new mental attitude.
Gunners striker Jesus says he now is better at keeping his head up even after missing a chance as he did at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday to ensure that he takes his next opportunity. His goal and assist won Arsenal the game.
Jesus said: “I have been living with this all my life - in Brazil with the national team, at City and now. Sometimes it is all about stats and sometimes it is all about watching the game.
“Sometimes it is like this. And also I am changing my mindset, I think I am more focused on the game now. Before, when I miss one or two chances…but that was not the case this time.
Mikel Arteta's dream Arsenal line up as last-gasp January transfers are secured
“I think I created and my team gave me the ball, it was amazing, and I hit the post. I think it was more unlucky than a miss, but I keep trying.
“A minute after I create another one and I miss the time to shoot, but I keep working, I keep trying, I keep focused on the game. I try to find another way to score and it worked. Sometimes it is all about this. Keep trying and then it works.
“Always when I do this (keep my head up), I think it helps me a lot. The support the fans give me, my team-mates, the staff, that’s good.”
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 30: Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 0-1 during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal FC at City Ground on January 30, 2024 in Nottingham, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)Jesus did admit in his native Brazil recently that he is not always a natural goalscorer and goals are not always the biggest part of his game. But as he made clear, he was talking about his all round contribution to the game and what he does in terms of assists and helping the team.
He scored at Forest, provided an assist for Bukayo Saka and the win keeps Arsenal firmly in the title hunt.
Jesus said: “Let’s go, come on. If you watch the game, you see me playing…I think when I say a month ago in Brazil about the goals, I meant it in a different way and people took it out of context.
“I said: ‘Listen, it (assisting) is not only my strong area, I can score goals. Come on guys.’ I am close to 100 in the Premier League, that’s not easy! Then in the Champions League I am scoring a lot, in the national team I score.
“Sometimes, like I say, I am not focused on that (scoring goals) and that’s I think my mistake. So now, I think I change my mindset and I will be in the box more - and I try everything to score.”
Jesus revealed he has been having treatment on his knee - he feared he might even miss the game at Forest - while he is also hoping to be fully fit and raring to go to face Liverpool on Sunday in a title showdown.
He added: “I was in physio this week, getting treatment on my knee. I didn’t know if I was available to play or not. But the medical staff pushed me and I pushed them as well. They helped me a lot and I trained the last two days and I was ready to play. It was good.
Arsenal lose eight players and sign three as January transfer window closes
“Liverpool is a tough game. They are a massive rival and they play amazing. But also we are playing at home, we have quality as well. The game we played against them at Anfield was not easy. We played amazing - we scored, we controlled them.
“They scored as well and we drew, and it will be a massive game again. We know if we want to win games we have to take risks sometimes and with the quality they have they always create something.
“But we go to control the game, try to control. We know it’s not easy, but it’s a football match, anything can happen. We will try to win the game.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
