Perhaps it’s the Arsenal effect. No sooner is Gabriel Jesus linked to a move to the Emirates then he starts scoring the goals that might prompt Pep Guardiol a to think again.
The Brazilian forward will probably be the man to make way when Manchester City splash the cash to land Erling Haaland this summer - and £40million isn’t to be sniffed at even at the Etihad. Mikel Arteta fancies his chances of getting a better tune out of Jesus than Guardiola has over the last five years.
And maybe Jesus is in need of a fresh challenge. Even if that might mean reassessing his ambitions. When he arrived from Palmeiras for £27million he was supposed to be the next Brazilian golden boy, the new Romario or Ronaldo. He will leave with a truckload of medals but with the feeling that his potential remains largely unfulfilled.
Jesus has rarely been one of the first names on Guardiola’s team-sheet, long regarded by the City boss as a willing workhorse to graft on the flanks rather than score goals with the kind of regularity that Sergio Aguero once did and Haaland is expected to do. Will he sign off with another Premier League title? What about the Champions League to complete his collection? Jesus’ four-goal salvo took City four points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table. Now they have a delicious semi-final meeting with Real Madrid to look forward to. Jesus will probably be back on the bench. Unless he can convince Guardiola to play him at right-back in the absence of the suspended Joao Cancelo and injured Kyle Walker.
His first goal was converted from six yards after three minutes, the second even closer 20 minutes later. Oleks Zinchenko and Kevin De Bruyne - who else - the providers. The match-ball belonged to Jesus when Ben Foster tripped him 14 seconds into the second half and the Brazilian picked himself up, refused to be spooked by an interminable VAR check, and sent the Watford keeper the wrong way from the penalty spot.
It was Jesus’ first Premier League hat-trick - and he scored again four minutes later when De Bruyne set him up for another finish from close to the penalty spot. Yet his tally for the season still only stands at 12. That’s why City need Haaland. If only Roy Hodgson had the same kind of problem to keep him awake at night. Hassane Kamara struck after Jesus’ first two goals, a fine finish after an exchange of passes with Emmanuel Dennis just before the half-hour.
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Guardiola petulantly threw down his water bottle in disgust. But Rodri needed just five minutes to sooth the irritation of the Hornets' sting with a thunderous finish from 25 yards. So City became the first club in English history to win 15 consecutive games against the same opposition. Those victories have brought 58 goals with only eight conceded. The only consolation for Watford was that the damage wasn’t more demoralising.
It must be on days like these, with his 75th birthday approaching, when Hodgson wonders why he still bothers. It’s because he loves the game, of course. Hodgson complained beforehand that Guardiola ignored him when he led Crystal Palace to victory at the Etihad in 2018. You can be sure the City boss will have invited him for a swift one this time - and Hodgson would have been tempted to neck the entire bottle. But Watford were doomed well before the former England coach took charge of his 17th club as a manager in January.
Raheem Sterling wasted chances that should have also given him a claim on the match ball. Maybe asking Arsenal if they are interested might work wonders for the England winger during the run-in. There would have been some relief at Anfield about that, with Liverpool’s goals advantage over City now cut to just two. Jurgen Klopp’s side will have to respond yet again in the Mersey derby. It was so routine that Madrid’s spies would have learned little. Especially when Guardiola took the opportunity to rest the legs of De Bruyne, Aymeric Laporte and Rodri in the second half.
