Mikel Arteta says Gabriel Jesus was disappointed not to score more against Leicester City on Saturday, after he managed just two goals and two assists.
Arsenal won 4-2 against Leicester City on Saturday, and they had Gabriel Jesus to thank for the three points. Though plenty of other players played their part in the result, Jesus was undoubtedly the star with two goals and two assists.
Even so, Mikel Arteta said after the match that the Brazilian striker was actually disappointed in his performance, knowing he could have scored more.
“We know what Gabby can do,” Arteta said. “He scored two and assisted two and he’s still disappointed in the dressing room because he said he could have scored four.
“That’s the standard, that’s the mentality that if you want to go to a different level you need that mentality.
“I wouldn’t like to play against him. I have never been a defender but I can imagine that they don’t enjoy it.
“He’s so mobile, so intuitive, and is always sharp and proactive to play in any moment and any phase of the game and he’s a real threat.”
The fact is that it’s true Jesus could have scored more on the day.
He had one excellent opportunity nicked off his toes by an excellent covering challenge from Wilfred Ndidi, he had another well saved by Danny Ward, and he couldn’t quite adjust his feet in time to volley in at the near post in the second half.
Any one of those opportunities could easily have been a goal on another day, yet the striker came away with a brace (and two assists) all the same.
That’s certainly an encouraging sign for the Arsenal supporters. A striker who can be denied a hat-trick of good opportunities and still score twice anyway is exactly what they needed this summer.
Now it’s just about keeping that level across the entirety of the season, something Arteta is challenging Jesus to do.
“I think he’s played 18 starts in the last two seasons and we are going to demand him to start a lot of games, so we have to manage that load and the way that we train is different,” Arteta said.
“We have to be on top of that and hopefully we are.”