Gabriel Jesus has helped raise the level in the squad. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
3. Maturity and experience
Arsenal signed Jesus to raise the level within the team and catapult them into the top four. No one expected a title charge at the start of the season, but the messages coming out of the camp are that Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko made it clear from day one that that’s why they were there.
Both have brought that mentality to the squad, and it has rubbed off on the likes of Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli etc. who have all stepped up to a new level and embraced Jesus’ experience.
Against Newcastle, we saw him use all that experience as he embraced the dark arts of the game, with time-wasting at appropriate times, running past Pope and forcing him to slow down his kicks out of his hands, and being there to defend his teammates when the game got heated.
Those traits are incredibly hard to find, and despite all his experience, it’s important to note that he has just turned 26, and is feeling his way back from injury.
Arsenal have a special player in Gabriel Jesus and one that will be crucial in the club’s remaining three games if they are to hit the 90-point mark and push City all the way for the title.
Newcastle, the Brazilian showed just how important he is.</p>
<p>After a long layoff, there is always a period of readapting. For some, there is a slow return to form, while for others they start fast and have a period of fatigue. With Jesus, that fatigue appeared to kick in during his two-game dip, but he looks very much back to his best and intent on finishing the season on a high.</p>
<h2><em><strong>3 reasons why Gabriel Jesus is so important to Arsenal</strong></em></h2>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Gabriel Jesus has 10 goals in 22 Premier League games for <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arsenal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#Arsenal</a>. After three months out, there was always going to be a dip after his first run of starts, which came against Southampton & City. Yes, he could score more, but don’t doubt his quality. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/AFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#AFC</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://t.co/QK6z1k6IXB">pic.twitter.com/QK6z1k6IXB
<p>— Adam Keys (@adamkeys_) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/adamkeys_/status/1654137255391379456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 4, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>1. Chaos</h2>
<p>When Gabriel Jesus signed for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta said: “He creates chaos and uncertainty and is always on your shoulder, he is always there to nick the ball off you, he’s always in front of the goal,”</p>
<p>Before the World Cup, we saw that in abundance, with Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka and Martin Odegaard thriving from the space he created and his tireless tenacity. Since returning to the team, he has brought that back to Arsenal, and his grit was on full display at Newcastle.</p>
<p>St James’ Park is one of the toughest grounds to visit, but he relished the battle against Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Kieran Trippier, even taking an elbow to the face, in what was a very aggressive tie.</p>
<p>Despite not scoring, the Newcastle defence, which is currently the best statistically in the Premier League, struggled to handle him as he popped up all over the park, dragging them out of position and closing them down any time they got near the ball.</p>
<p>His performance showed exactly what Arsenal were missing during the side’s 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium in January, and why he has to play.</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/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Creativity </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_132998" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-132998" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1248390472.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1248390472.jpeg 3200w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1248390472-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Gabriel Jesus can service others as well as score. (Photo by Nigel French/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2><strong>2. Creativity</strong></h2>
<p>Gabriel Jesus has ten goals and five assists in 23 games this season, showing he is always a handful in the final third of the pitch.</p>
<p>Against Newcastle he struggled to get into shooting positions, finishing the game with just one tame shot, which Nick Pope bundled out for a corner, but he did play the pass that lead to Arsenal’s second goal after some twisting and turning inside his own half.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Gabriel Martinelli hits Newcastle on the break, before his cross is diverted into his own net by Fabian Schär, to double Arsenal’s lead! <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/hashtag/afc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>#afc</a> <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://t.co/u2lKP6VsIj">pic.twitter.com/u2lKP6VsIj
<p>— afcstuff (@afcstuff) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/afcstuff/status/1655258355558957058?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 7, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Alongside his decisive passes, he had <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://www.sofascore.com/arsenal-newcastle-united/Ardc">50 touches</a> of the ball, holding play up very well, and running at the Newcastle defence, which again is something that creates a huge amount of uncertainty with defenders.</p>
<p>Those traits very much feed into the chaos factor that Arteta has spoken about, as he is such an unpredictable player to face, and defenders hate playing against that.</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/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Maturity and experience </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_134036" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-134036" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1758,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1485755018-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1758" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1485755018-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1485755018-768x528.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1485755018-1536x1055.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1485755018-2048x1407.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Gabriel Jesus has helped raise the level in the squad. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2><strong>3. Maturity and experience</strong></h2>
<p>Arsenal signed Jesus to raise the level within the team and catapult them into the top four. No one expected a title charge at the start of the season, but the messages coming out of the camp are that Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko made it clear from day one that that’s why they were there.</p>
<p>Both have brought that mentality to the squad, and it has rubbed off on the likes of Odegaard, Saka, Martinelli etc. who have all stepped up to a new level and embraced Jesus’ experience.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">55-0 – Gabriel Jesus has now scored in 55 Premier League matches and never ended on the losing side when doing so (W50 D5) – this is the most times a player has scored in a game in the competition without ever losing, surpassing James Milner (54). Charm. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://t.co/Lb0CTYO0zS">pic.twitter.com/Lb0CTYO0zS
<p>— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1653504111420100644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 2, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/05/10/gabriel-jesus-important-arsenal/3/"https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><br>
Against Newcastle, we saw him use all that experience as he embraced the dark arts of the game, with time-wasting at appropriate times, running past Pope and forcing him to slow down his kicks out of his hands, and being there to defend his teammates when the game got heated.</p>
<p>Those traits are incredibly hard to find, and despite all his experience, it’s important to note that he has just turned 26, and is feeling his way back from injury.</p>
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<p>Arsenal have a special player in Gabriel Jesus and one that will be crucial in the club’s remaining three games if they are to hit the 90-point mark and push City all the way for the title.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
