Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made the decision to start Gabriel Jesus ahead of Bukayo Saka against Leeds United after the latter had struggled with an illness. Saka's absence worried fans ahead of kick-off before Arteta revealed that the England international has not suffered a serious problem.
Before the game, Arteta was quizzed on the decision to name Saka on the bench. He said: “He [Saka] wasn’t able to train yesterday as he wasn’t well but today he feels a little bit better, so we’ve put Gabby [Jesus] in."
The 21-year-old winger has played an important role in the Gunners' superb performances this season, scoring 13 goals and provided a further 10 assists in all competitions and has been in the best form of his career. The Hale End star is considered to be one of the first names on the teamsheet for Arsenal, but today Arteta opted to rest him from the start before bringing him on with 30 minutes left to play.
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Saka played in both of England's fixtures during the international break and had not been named on the bench since the Gunners' 3-2 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2021 - a run stretching 485 days. This highlights his importance to the team but raises concerns about the amount of minutes Saka has played since Arteta took charge at the Emirates Stadium, potentially outlining the need for capable players to come in and rotate with the 21-year-old.
Jesus was the man to replace Saka in the team today and Arteta's decision to start the Brazilian could not have gone any better. The 25-year-old was signed from Manchester City in a £45million deal last summer and recently returned to full fitness following a long-term knee injury he sustained at the World Cup.
Jesus marked his first start for Arsenal since November last year with two goals as the north Londoners moved eight points clear at the top of the table following his former side's victory earlier today to close the gap down to five points. The Brazil international was fouled by Luke Ayling inside the penalty box in the first half before converting the spot kick himself to give the hosts a 1-0 lead heading into half-time.
Ben White added a second goal minutes into the second half before Jesus grabbed his second and Arsenal's third goal to secure the win after latching on to Leandro Trossard's low cross and volleying the ball into the back of the Leeds net. Jesus was replaced by Saka in the 60th minute with Arteta opting to bring on the England star ahead of Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson.
Today may have been a good time to give Saka a full rest following the international break given how many minutes he has played this term. The Arsenal boss may have decided to give the 21-year-old half an hour on the pitch in an effort to maintain his sharpness and continue his stunning form this campaign.
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