Mikel Arteta says the arrival of Gabriel Jesus has ‘changed Arsenal’s world’ by bringing chaos to their attack.
Jesus joined Arsenal last summer, arriving from Manchester City for a fee of around £45million and scoring 11 goals last season.
The striker has got off the mark in the current campaign, finding the net against Manchester United in a 3-1 win before the international break after missing the start of the season due to a knee injury.
Jesus is now pushing to start on Sunday when Arsenal travel to Everton, and Arteta has hailed the impact he has had on the squad.
“I think he brought a different energy, a different belief, a different threat, a different fear to opponents,” said Arteta, describing Jesus’ impact since signing.
“And he did it in a really natural way. He contributed hugely to the step that we had last season.
“If you look at the last six or seven months for Gabi, with the long-term injury he had and the amount of football that he missed, then he came back in pre-season and he started to get his rhythm again — and then he had another injury, another surgery. So we have to build him up.
“He is a tremendous player, a really important player for us. He changed our world last season. You could all see that. He is going to be a really important player for us.”
Arteta has praised Jesus for bringing “chaos” to Arsenal’s attack and he will hope that is the case on Sunday.
The Gunners have lost their last five League games at Goodison Park, scoring just twice in that time.
“In certain areas of the pitch, I love it (chaos),” said Arteta. “In other areas, I hate it!
“So it’s where you produce that chaos. He obviously draws a lot of attention from opponents with the way he plays and creates space for others. That’s a big quality of his.”
The signing of Jesus was a major coup for Arsenal, with the club luring him away from Premier League champions Manchester City.
Jesus won four League titles during his time at the Etihad, but Arteta believes he is just as hungry for success now at Arsenal.
“Obviously when you sign a player that you know, who has done it in the League and has the hunger and right reasons to join us, it was a no brainer for us to do it,” he said. “And you could see the impact he had on the team straight away.”
