Gabriel Jesus’ new role at Arsenal speaks volumes about Mikel Arteta’s squad

Mikel Arteta hails Jesus after first goals for Arsenal

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Gabriel Jesus’ new role as one of the vice-captains at Arsenal speaks volumes about Mikel Arteta’s squad. A lack of leadership has often been levelled at the Gunners and this latest appointment proves that has been the case.

Jesus only joined Arsenal from Manchester City at the beginning of last month. But he has already been named by Arteta as one of two official deputies to skipper Martin Odegaard, alongside Granit Xhaka.

The Gunners have not qualified for the Champions League since 2016. One major criticism which has constantly been thrown at them is a soft underbelly due to a lack of real leaders in the squad.

A quick look at the demise of Arsenal’s recent club captains proves that. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s misdemeanours not only led to him being stripped of the armband, but also forced out of the club in January.

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Xhaka was relieved of the duty in 2019 after a public display of anger towards his own supporters. He took over from Laurent Koscielny, who refused to travel on a pre-season tour to the USA as he looked to force a move away from the Emirates earlier that year.

The captaincy has been somewhat of a poisoned chalice at Arsenal. Per Mertesacker, Arteta himself and Thomas Vermaelen were all often injured and barely played throughout their reigns as official club skipper.

Arteta clearly felt there was a lack of leadership among his current squad, which is why he has handed Jesus one of the major roles in that department. Odegaard taking the armband on a full-time basis just 12 months after joining from Real Madrid also shows there was a lack of other real candidates in Arteta’s eyes.

But it is not a bad thing. Everyone knows the struggles Arsenal have been through in recent years and that aspect had to be improved.

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Arteta is doing all he can to turn things around and is clearly targeting the right type of player in the transfer market. He knows Jesus better than most following their time together at City.

Jesus speaks excellent English but is also able to transmit information to the club’s Portuguese-speaking contingent. He is a guaranteed starter when fit, just like Odegaard and Xhaka.

After five-and-a-half years at City, Jesus arrives at Arsenal in the prime of his career. And Arteta will do all he can to squeeze every last drop out of the Brazilian in order for him to have a positive impact on the club and his team-mates.

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