Gabriel Jesus' capacity for chaos can help Arsenal over the line
DANIEL MATTHEWS: Gabriel Jesus’ capacity for chaos can help Arsenal over the line in the title race… he will make life much simpler for Mikel Arteta’s team in the business end of the season
- Arsenal beat Leeds 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
- Gabriel Jesus scored twice as he showed that he is well and truly back
- The forward’s return from injury could be crucial for the Gunners during run-in
Gabriel Jesus was a laughing stock come full-time on Saturday. The Arsenal striker watched the final half-hour of this win from the bench but after the whistle, Jesus headed back on to the pitch and put the match ball under his arm.
He wore a smirk; behind him, Gabriel Martinelli could only point and chuckle. ‘Hat-trick,’ the winger laughed.
He had a point. Two goals don’t tend to qualify players for any match-day souvenirs. But perhaps, after the striker helped disfigure Leeds in another display of canny and chaos, we can allow him to bend the rules, too. You can certainly understand why Arsenal’s staff and players clapped their talisman back in the dressing room.
This had been a long time coming. Jesus had not started in the Premier League since mid-November. He had not scored for club or country since October 1.
Arteta had suggested ahead of this game that Jesus was edging back towards his best. That he was wreaking havoc in training once more. Here was the evidence that Jesus appears primed to play a pivotal role in Arsenal’s title bid.
Gabriel Jesus scored twice as Arsenal beat Leeds 4-1 on Saturday evening
Arsenal coped well without Jesus but having him back is a massive boost for Mikel Arteta
His opening goal, a first-half penalty, was the product of Jesus’ industry and intelligence. He went haring down the left. His first foray into the box came to nothing. Before long, he collected possession once more: one feint bamboozled Rasmus Kristensen. Another put Luke Ayling on his behind. The defender felled Jesus; Jesus picked himself up to score from the spot.
Until then, Leeds had been the more threatening as Arsenal stuttered without Bukayo Saka. But that goal put them on course for a seventh-straight league win.
Their second, through Ben White shortly after the break, turned much of the second half into an exhibition. Before long, Jesus had stretched the lead with a fine illustration of his craft.
The No 9 drifted out to the right, allowing Leandro Trossard to come inside. Jesus collected the ball in space, he turned and fizzed a pass into Trossard’s feet. As the Belgian worked space to cross, Jesus dashed towards the box in time to meet it. His raw celebration, bent double by the corner flag, spoke to all the pent-up emotion and energy.
In Jesus’ absence, Eddie Nketiah scored six goals in his first six games leading the line — more, at that point, than the Brazilian had managed all season — while Trossard slotted into the team and added guile and flexibility. Jesus is among Mikel Arteta’s leadership group and was still doing his bit, offering advice to Nketiah and support to team-mates.
‘When you are injured it does not mean that you don’t have anything to do,’ Granit Xhaka said afterwards. ‘You know exactly when and how to help and Gabi has been excellent because it is not always easy for him to be out for three or four months. But he was very positive in the dressing room and that is what we need.’
Now Arsenal need cool heads and cold hearts to hold off Manchester City — starting at Anfield next weekend. This was a reminder that no one offers what Jesus can.
Jesus being back in the goals is a massive boost for the league leading Gunners
Nketiah might be the more reliable threat. None of Trossard, Saka or Martinelli deserve to miss out, either. But none offers the cocktail of intensity and intelligence and industry of the No 9.
‘He is a very, very special player,’ Xhaka said. And particularly useful given, as he pointed out, ‘teams are playing against us now very deep.’
‘I’m so happy for him because he’s worked so hard with the support and help of the staff throughout the last five months,’ Arteta said. ‘And today he got rewarded for it.’
The goals, in a curious way, come as a welcome bonus. Jesus netted five in his first nine league games, following a £45million move from City last summer.
Even after they dried up, his influence on this side never wavered. What numbers might never show, for example, is Jesus’ influence on those around him.
The way his movement unlocks defences and opens up spaces. The way his tendency to drift out wide frees Martinelli and Trossard to dash into the middle. Is it pure coincidence that Xhaka, who netted Arsenal’s fourth, has rediscovered his scoring form since Jesus returned to fitness?
‘Everyone is playing so well. They made it easy for me,’ Jesus said.
Over the next nine games, his appetite for chaos can make life much simpler for this team, too.
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