Five games, seven goals and excitement at Arsenal is increasing exponentially. Gabriel Jesus has taken to the role of being the Gunners’ new number nine about as well as anyone could hope for so far.
Granted, Arsenal are yet to kick off their Premier League campaign, but a haul of the size that Jesus has managed to amass in less than two months with the club is difficult to play down. To put it into context, Arsenal’s strikers of last season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah couldn’t double the seven-goal tally from Gabriel Jesus’ five games across a season where the trio played a combined 65 appearances between them.
Prior to the Brazilian’s signature and for a short while after, before he’d smashed in a goal after 90 seconds on his non-competitive debut in Germany, there was no shortage of doubts. Claims that his finishing ‘requires refinement’, fans being told ‘don’t believe the hype’ and that his numbers raised ‘a few red flags.’
READ MORE: Arsenal vs Sevilla highlights: Gabriel Jesus scores hat-trick as Gunners win Emirates Cup
Look at the goals scored, ignoring the numbers, and it becomes clear that he is playing with a completely different feel to his game. He is playing with happiness and he himself pointed that out in an interview with the Podpah podcast.
"I'm a person that thinks a lot. I've been thinking about [leaving City] for one or two years. The best decision that I could have made is to be here at Arsenal," he said.
"I needed to play football with a smile on my face again. My mother watched our game [against Orlando City] and called me to say: 'I can see you're different, you're playing happy!' I got emotional hearing that.
"Everybody at the club has received me so well. I'm two or three years older than most players here but they look at me as a very experienced player. I like that. I like to be a role model for other players."
The finish against Chelsea was sublime. The second goal against Sevilla getting onto the end of Gabriel Martinelli’s curling effort showed the desire, as did his third where a goal didn’t seem possible.
The power and aim of the strike against Everton; the impact and finish in Germany after just 90 seconds were the movement and evidence of a forward whose motivation is to succeed.
It is a clear message to those that wanted to doubt the motivations behind taking a step down in the current footballing hierarchy that he’s here to win and elevate this club. It’s painful to say that Arsenal is a step down, it hurts, but that is the reality.
But this is the type of player that will help to close the gap and help to raise ourselves back to where we have longed to return. Tempering expectations is going to be tricky and the game against Crystal Palace is a massive match.
Win that and win well and a ground where Arsenal have had so many characteristic defeats suddenly is put into a box, locked up and the key thrown away. Jesus’ attitude, with that of his former City teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko, brings leadership and idolization that can inspire a team.
What they could inspire this team to remains to be seen. However, whilst that will not stop the anticipation from growing, importantly, it might just make the critics think twice about underestimating this Arsenal team.
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