(Ruy Rebollo/The Intermission)
By. Dylan Gosse
As modern-day attackers go, Gabriel Jesus has proved himself time and time again, how much of a threat he can be in front of goal. The ex-Manchester City striker has joined Brazilian teammates Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes at the Emirates stadium for a fee of 45 million Euros in a five-year deal, earning him 10 million Euros per season.
As Arsenal F.C. failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after a tough finish to the 2021/22 season, Mikel Arteta has been looking for a goal scorer who can improve on the squad’s 61 goals in the 2022 premier league season. The 25-year-old striker may be exactly what Arsenal fans worldwide have been waiting for.
Jesus has the 7th best goal-to-game ratio in premier league history, while only starting under 100 times for the Citizens. However, the Brazilian forward has also been under the spotlight for not being clinical in front of goal in certain moments. Jesus underperformed his expected goals (XG) by -12.49, only beating Benteke, according to SkySports PL. Arteta will be hoping to help improve this stat by making Jesus the starting main forward.
Since a large volume of chance creations is going to be made in the 2022/23 premier league season with Martin Ødegaard, Emile Smith-Rowe, Fabio Vieira, and Bukayo Saka all playing behind Jesus, the striker should have no problem scoring many goals this season.
(Goal.com)
One of the big factors that attracted Jesus to Arsenal was his versatility to be able to play on either flank as well as through the middle. This allows for players like Saka to get more rest time during the season, especially now that the Gooners are in the Europa League this upcoming season and are looking to go all the way this time around after losing in the semi-finals to Villareal in 2021. This gives Arsenal a free-flowing attack without having to weaken the squad strength.
Another significant quality that has been shown in the media regarding what Mikel Arteta expects from his men is intensity. The manager wants players that have high energy, press from the front, and can pin teams causing panic in their opponent's back line. After playing under Pep Guardiola, Jesus has experienced this type of playstyle for some time now and fits perfectly under Arteta’s playstyle. Former Brazilian Ze Roberto and icon Kevin Campbell have even named Gabriel Jesus as the best “pressing forward in the world”.
As with many players, form comes with confidence and an environment. Being named the star player in a team with a lot of talent must give the Brazilian a huge confidence booster, especially that now, unlike at Manchester, he will be getting a lot of starting minutes. This, along with being welcomed by national teammates and old friends, Jesus should have no problem fitting into the team and getting his confidence up before the season begins.
This was quite clearly seen in Arsenal’s first pre-season match against a tough German side, 1. FC Nurnberg. After Arsenal was down 2-0 in the first half, after starting with a younger squad, Jesus was subbed on at halftime and had a huge impact right away. After only 90 seconds, the forward slotted the ball in for his first goal of two in the game.
(Arsenal)
He helped Arsenal come back to a 5-3 win over the Germans, showing a glimpse of how much of a threat and impact Jesus will be in their charge for top four this season.
Gooner fans around the world should be excited over their new forward signing, with rumours of more to come, it will be thrilling to see how many goals Gabriel Jesus will score over his next 5 years at the Emirates stadium.
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