Here is your Arsenal morning digest for Sunday, August 21.
Messi plays against Bournemouth
Not literally, but Gabriel Jesus' spectacular opening to the game at Bournemouth was comparable to Lionel Messi, said Gary Lineker.
The former England striker took to Twitter to praise Arsenal's new No.9 and showed him the biggest respect with some extremely complimentary praise.
Jesus played a key role in the opening goal before assisting the second.
READ MORE: Gabriel Martinelli boosts contract renewal hopes after showing commitment to Arsenal project
Saliba praise
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has hailed young defender William Saliba for his leadership qualities. "This is football," the Swiss captain told the Evening Standard when discussing Saliba's unfortunate own goal against Leicester City.
"People only see the own goal but maybe, hopefully, they'll see what a game he had. This guy is 21. I think in his first game in the Premier League for Arsenal, he was unbelievable.
"You can see how… he looks like he is 30. He has discipline and big character. He is not so loud but he is a proper leader in my eyes. You can see he is amazing. He has a lot of quality and yeah, we forget the own goal because for 90 minutes he had a great, great game."
Read the full story here.
Arteta on Jesus
Mikel Arteta has been massively impressed by summer signing Gabriel Jesus in recent weeks. "Probably the biggest difference since I worked with him is his maturity," Arteta said when discussing the Brazilian international.
"A few years have gone by and he’s had a few experiences. His language has improved so much and he’s got a different role here. I’m glad he’s enjoying and performing really well for the team."
He added: "I think he has improved a lot of areas in his game because he has more experience and he’s been working on them. What makes a difference is his attitude, his willingness and desire to win every single training session and every single ball and that’s what makes him the player that he is."
Read more here.
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