Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has insisted he is confident that Gabriel Jesus can end his five-game goal drought after the Gunners slipped up in the Premier League title race.
Despite dominating, Arteta's men were held to a draw by struggling Southampton, seeing their lead at the top of the division cut to two points. Jesus has been a revelation for Arsenal since he joined from Manchester City in the summer, but has struggled to hit the back of the net in recent games.
His last goal in the Premier League came in the win over Tottenham at the very start of this month. Sunday was another frustrating day for the Brazilian, who had just one shot on target and was dispossessed more times than any of his team-mates.
Arteta, though, is confident his star signing can end his current goal drought, with Jesus' next opportunity coming on Thursday against PSV in the Europa League. The Gunners boss also admitted to being frustrated his side could not put their chances away.
"I’m sure that today he will be disappointed because he had the chances to put them away. Knowing Gabby, he’s disappointed when he scores two goals and could have scored three or four, so he can do that," Arteta said.
"But he’s having the chances and he’s always there. He gives so much to the team and it’s a shame he couldn’t put them away today. This is football. We were really good in the first half and controlled totally the game.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Mikel Arteta drop Gabriel Jesus amid his goal drought? Comment below.
"We created loads of big chances that we didn’t put away. In the Premier League, unfortunately, if you don’t do that when you are top of the game you can have some difficulties. In the second half we put ourselves in problems with the amount of giveaways that we had.
"That didn’t allow us to control the game the way we wanted. Their direct play and long throws and set pieces disrupted the game a lot. We tried to react and I still think in the second half the two biggest chances were ours but we didn’t put them away."
Jesus also struggled to hide his frustration following Arsenal's disappointing result at St Mary's. And he called on his team-mates to step back up a level as they look to continue their surprise title challenge.
“It feels like we lost the game - because of the way we played, the way we created a lot, in the first half more than in the second. In the second, we dropped a level again. It was a little bit similar to what happened against Leeds," he said.
"We have to realise that, be smart and see what we are doing wrong, and then improve. We have to improve and try to come back at the same level at which we started the season, as a team and individuals.
"[We’ll] work hard and then come back stronger. There’s no excuses. We have some days to prepare, to work on what we have to do on the pitch. Obviously there are some players who need more time to recover.
"But like I said, it’s all about focusing on the pitch. We are creating chances, like in the last game. But the balls aren’t going in the net, and today that happened again. Now is the time to realise, breathe and try to come back.”
