Arsenal fans are grappling with the unexpected revelation from their star striker Gabriel Jesus that scoring goals is not his forte.
Jesus, a £45 million acquisition from Manchester City in 2022, has struggled to find the net consistently, raising concerns and prompting potential changes in Arsenal’s attacking strategy.
Arsenal fans were left surprised following star striker Gabriel Jesus‘s admission that “goals aren’t my strong suit,” amid a continuing goal drought.
Jesus, 26, who joined Arsenal from Manchester City in 2022 for £45 million, managed 11 goals in his first season, contributing to Arsenal narrowly missing the Premier League title.
This term, he has scored just once, although his season has been further hampered by an injury.
Jesus’s struggles extend to the international arena, where he played the entire 90 minutes in Brazil‘s home defeat to Argentina but failed to score.
His goal tally for Brazil stands at just one since 2019, across 25 matches.
Following this pattern, Arsenal are reportedly considering signing another striker, with Brentford‘s Ivan Toney a potential target.
Despite his goal-scoring challenges, Jesus remains integral to Brazil’s set-up and Arsenal’s attack.
Mikel Arteta, Arsenal’s manager, has praised Jesus’s impact, and Gabriel Martinelli, his teammate, has labelled him as one of the world’s best strikers.
Jesus has 15 goals and nine assists in 44 appearances across all competitions for Arsenal.
Reflecting on his performance, Jesus acknowledged, “There are things that bothered me a lot in the post 2018 World Cup cycle. I was younger, I had a different mentality.
“Today I am a more mature man, more educated, a family man. I understand football is a priority for me, and I know I need to be well to do my best, especially for Brazil… I believe that goals are not my strong point, but I score goals, I’m there to score goals.
“I did so much in the national team. When I score goals again, it’s going to happen. It’s work. I work quietly, I’m not one to respond to criticism, I’m not one to be happy with praise. I was, I won’t be anymore.”
This candid revelation from Jesus has not been well-received by all Arsenal fans, with some expressing disbelief and frustration at having a striker who openly admits to not being a natural goal-scorer, helpfully highlighted by The S*n.