3. Arsenal squad and his role
Gabriel Jesus is one of those being picked out after the collapse Arsenal have suffered, but fans need to look at the bigger picture.
The whole Arsenal team has dropped off in the last two games, not just Jesus. With William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko out, they aren’t moving the ball as quickly, and they aren’t playing with the same high, dominant line they were earlier in the season, leading to him dropping deeper to receive the ball.
While he is dropping deeper, it’s important to remember that he will never be a penalty box striker like Erling Haaland. Jesus is more of a false nine, so his movement and unpredictability cause problems for defenders by dragging them out of positions, which creates space for the likes of Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli to exploit.
That movement has led to Arsenal having a spread of goals this season, rather than relying on one player, and was also a huge reason that the team coped so well in his absence. Fans should be celebrating this rather than demanding a new striker this summer.
pic.twitter.com/rPdrubCA2r
<p>— Scott Willis (@scottjwillis) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://twitter.com/scottjwillis/status/1660720874461474816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 22, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>1. Long-term injury</h2>
<p>When recovering from a long-term injury, the return can lead to fluctuations in form, as the body and mind get used to the demands of physical competition again.</p>
<p>Gabriel Jesus missed four months of football and also had the emotional hurt of being sent home from the World Cup due to the injury so he could have surgery, which is catastrophic for players to have to go through.</p>
<p>After initially being phased into the side, he has started every game since the international break and has scored five goals in nine starts, which is a respectable record for any player, but a very good one for someone recovering from such a long layoff.</p>
<p>After <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/arsenal-vs-wolves-preview-prediction-team-news-lineups/">Wolves on Sunday, Jesus will have a month off to relax before joining the squad for pre-season and will be able to hit the reset button ahead of 2023/24. If he can remain fit for the whole season, fans will see him return to his best.</p>
<p><em>Continued to next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 Ability and experience </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134707" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1566,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1482602420-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1566" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1482602420-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1482602420-768x470.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1482602420-1536x939.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1482602420-2048x1252.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"></p>
<h2><strong>2. Ability and experience</strong></h2>
<p>Fans are reactionary. We can’t help it. We buy into the emotion of the game. It is that emotion that keeps us glued to our screens all week, listening to opinions and debating with friends, but it’s also what leads to opinions that are based purely on a two-game run.</p>
<p>Gabriel Jesus’ arrival lifted the whole team at Arsenal, and he was central to everything good about the team before his injury. Since then, the levels of others have risen, and Martin Odegaard, <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/23/3-points-bukayo-saka-new-contract/">Bukayo Saka</a> and Gabriel Martinelli have become the main men.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">🗣️| Gary Neville: “[Bukayo] Saka and [Gabriel] Martinelli – up until the last few weeks – have absolutely lit up this league.</p>
<p>“I think they’ve been spectacular, they’ve been electric, some of the best play I’ve seen all season has come from those two with Gabriel Jesus up front… <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://t.co/gHgvJN8zdo">pic.twitter.com/gHgvJN8zdo
<p>— Arsenal Buzz (@ArsenalBuzzCom) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://twitter.com/ArsenalBuzzCom/status/1660802091588239361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 23, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>However, Jesus has shown during his six-year spell in England that he has the ability and mentality to grow and bounce back from setbacks.</p>
<p>With a full pre-season and his injury a distant memory, we can expect him to come back leaner, faster and with even more energy, and rightly establish himself as one of Arsenal’s leaders.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 Arsenal squad and his role </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134706" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1067,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1256507242.jpeg" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1256507242.jpeg 1600w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1256507242-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1256507242-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"></p>
<h2><strong>3. Arsenal squad and his role</strong></h2>
<p>Gabriel Jesus is one of those being picked out after the collapse Arsenal have suffered, but fans need to look at the bigger picture.</p>
<p>The whole Arsenal team has dropped off in the last two games, not just Jesus. With William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko out, they aren’t moving the ball as quickly, and they aren’t playing with the same high, dominant line they were earlier in the season, leading to him dropping deeper to receive the ball.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Gabriel Jesus spent 4 months out, and will be back to his best next season. He is not the guy <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arsenal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#Arsenal</a> rely on to score; we rely on him, Saka, Martinelli and Ødegaard, and they have 53 goals and 28 assists between them. That spread makes us dangerous. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#AFC</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://t.co/cMcNp0gKLD">pic.twitter.com/cMcNp0gKLD
<p>— Adam Keys (@adamkeys_) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://twitter.com/adamkeys_/status/1661391604211392514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 24, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>While he is dropping deeper, it’s important to remember that he will never be a penalty box striker like Erling Haaland. Jesus is more of a false nine, so his movement and unpredictability cause problems for defenders by dragging them out of positions, which creates space for the likes of <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/22/3-reasons-saka-form/">Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli to exploit.</p>
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<p>That movement has led to Arsenal having a spread of goals this season, rather than relying on one player, and was also a huge reason that the team coped so well in his absence. Fans should be celebrating this rather than demanding a new <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/25/gabriel-jesus-will-bouce-back/3/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/18/3-strikers-arsenal-target-summer/">striker this summer.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
