The striker’s goal drought continued last night despite Arsenal clinching first place in their Europa League group, and Mikel Arteta has pleaded with Gabriel Jesus to be “patient.”
The summer transfer from Manchester City to the Gunners had an explosive debut, but his last goal came in the North London derby at the beginning of October.
Jesus led Arsenal last night as Kieran Tierney’s goal secured a 1-0 victory over FC Zurich, preventing the Gunners from having to play an additional round against a Champions League dropout in February.
Jesus has now gone eight games without a goal despite putting in another stellar individual performance, but Arteta is optimistic that they will start flowing again as long as the 25-year-old stays composed.
Speaking after last night’s game, he asserted that his bad luck would soon change because he was getting into the right situations and having the chance to take advantage of his opportunities.
He was also making a significant contribution to the team and helping them win games thanks to his incredible competitiveness for every ball and every opportunity.
He must be patient, remember what he has learned from previous experiences, and continue doing the other things that he is doing so well to keep himself and the team performing at a high level.
The return of Mohamed Elneny, who was out for two months of the season with a serious hamstring injury, gave Arsenal some encouragement.
Thomas Partey will have a reliable support from the seasoned Egypt international, and Arteta is thrilled to have his former teammate available once more.
He continued by saying that he was really good.
He had an amazing recovery, he’s a guy who has been pushing everyone around the training ground to be ready as quickly as possible, and today he believes he competed well. He’s been out for eight weeks, whereas we anticipated him to be out for 12 weeks.
