Jamie Carragher has delivered a fresh verdict on Arsenal's Premier League title race with Manchester City, highlighting £45million summer signing Gabriel Jesus as 'a revelation' for Mikel Arteta's side. The Brazilian striker has been sidelined through injury for the past three months but is edging closer to making a return to the squad.
The Gunners have maintained their five point lead at the top of the Premier League table despite being hampered by injuries to key players such as Jesus and Thomas Partey. The Brazil international was a pivotal player for the north Londoners in the first half of the season, scoring five goals and providing a further six assists helping them go into the World Cup with 14 wins from 16 games.
Arsenal are facing a crucial run of fixtures that could define their season with the return of Europa League action and crucial Premier League matches against Liverpool, Chelsea and City still to come. Arteta will be boosted by the return of Jesus to training, with the 25-year-old set to travel with the squad for their Europa League round of 16 first leg against Sporting CP this week.
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Carragher has labelled the Brazilian as a 'revelation' and believes Mikel Arteta's side deserve 'massive credit' for maintaining their position at the top of the Premier League table. The former Liverpool defender said on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football: "A big thing we should give Arsenal credit for, I think when Jesus got injured they were five points clear of Man City.
"How long's he been injured? Three months? They're still five points clear.
"You've got to give them massive credit for that because there were a lot of questions asked. He's about to come back and he was an absolute revelation in those early months."
When discussing the Gunners' 3-2 comeback win against Bournemouth at the weekend, Carragher added: "I've always had the feeling that if you want to win a league, you're going to have to score late goals. The thing that stands out is the quality of the goals - Reiss Nelson's goal is sensational.
"I was listening in my car and I was celebrating! You look at those celebrations - is that a good thing or is that a bad thing? There's so long to go and you get the fun police out there saying, 'You shouldn't be doing this, you shouldn't be doing that.'
"Celebrate it, go for it, embrace it! If Arsenal win the league that moment will be remembered forever and he'll be an Arsenal legend for that moment. We'll be watching it back for years to come if Arsenal go on and win the league.
"The narrative around Arsenal is because they haven't won it. When we're saying, 'Is this a positive?'
"If Man City score in the last minute, we say 'oh great mentality!' Because it's Arsenal we're saying, 'They're choking, they've got to score in the last minute cause they're not playing well enough.' That narrative will change if they win it."
There are just 12 games left to play in the Premier League with the run-in set to see pressure on Arsenal increase to levels they've not experienced since their last title win in 2004. If they can avoid injuries and maintain their current form, the Gunners could end the season by making history by winning the Premier League and Europa League.
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