Gabriel Jesus says he can “play football again” after spending the summer working on his fitness following 18 months of knee issues.
The Brazil international was on the scoresheet against Manchester United in Saturday night’s friendly in Los Angeles and generally looked sharp in his all-round game as he attempts to build momentum heading into the new campaign.
It’s a welcome turn of events given the 27-year-old hinted in April that he might need another surgery. As it turns out, he’s managed to avoid that worst-case scenario and has spent the summer proudly sharing updates of his intense holiday gym routines.
Mentally and physically, he appears to be in a better place, reflecting: “My last pre-season was not good because I was feeling my knee, so I had to have surgery and missed all of the pre-season. So, I was trying to force it during that pre-season, but at the end I couldn’t and had surgery.
“That was a little bit difficult after to come back, but this season is different. I could enjoy my holidays and then I trained a lot, and I was focused to come back well and do a good pre-season. Now I’m in different shape and can play football again.”
Manager Mikel Arteta is similarly enthused. Having targeted a new striker at the start of the transfer window, he’ll be hoping to save a few quid with a revitalised Jesus.
“He looks really good, he looks really sharp,” said the boss after Saturday’w win.
“He’s changed a lot of things over the summer and he’s come back in top condition again. When you have that baseline, other things can be built but without that foundation we don’t have a player and he needs to be in that condition to get the best out of him.
“He’s realised that and I’m really happy with what he’s shown today again. You can see by the way he looks, the way he’s moving and you can see in his eyes that there’s a spark there.”
As a word of warning, Arteta was similarly optimistic about Jesus on last year’s US tour and then almost immediately lost the player for the opening two games of the season.
“Gabi, today, didn’t score but it’s the best Gabi I have seen for months,” he said after the 5-3 win over Barcelona. “Transmitting that energy, that belief. He was creating a lot of chaos, a lot of good moments and making everyone better.”
Here’s hoping there are no setbacks this time around.
When I jury-free and fit, he knits that attack like no else can do in the squad currently. Hope he has an injury-free season!
I think if we are smart we manage his minutes carefully and deploy him more out wide than centrally, against low blocks anyway. Can’t have him in too many back to goal, aerial CB duels, his body won’t hold up. The CF thing was great for a while but it’s time to shift more wide more often. On a related note I’d like to see Martinelli at the 9 in the Champions League. I think he has everything to play the position in more open game states.
Martinelli is like Henry in 1998.
Interesting point.
Happy days!
Now he needs to start taking more first time shots when in the box
You’ve nailed it. Close controls and dribbles, dribbles and dribbles until opposition defence gets organized.
So many of his little first touch dribbles provide the moment of magic that we need to break a deadlock, either with his own goal or an assist. He’s one of the 2 or 3 players we have that can provide a moment like that of pure magical talent that completely surprises the opposition, you want to take that away?
Wouldn’t it be a dream if Jesus could be the striker that we’re hunting in the market for. At 27, if he and Havertz deliver a combined average of 40 goals per season till he’s 30+, we can buy a striker without being strong armed into overpaying
40 goals for the two of them would be optimistic even for me… If you offered me 35 with 18 assists I’d sign right now, especially given I expect more goals from our wings and attacking midfielder too this season
I was just thinking the same – 27 is just getting into the peak zone for a striker and 3 years of 15 goals+ per season with a load of assists would be perfick!
It feels like we’re leaning into injury prone players too hard (Partey, Jesus) I hope it doesn’t cost us points in the end. I guess though in football, there are no guarantees.
He limped off when he was substituted. It wasn’t too obvious, but if you’ve played with knee injuries, then you’ll know what it looks like.
Fingers crossed for Gaby Jesus (and Gaby Martinelli as well) to score loads of goals this season and seasons ahead
As much as we live him , we can’t be solely dependant on him, still need another forward especially with Eddie heading for the gate .
Jesus dynamic play and possibility of him playing a freer wide role should suit him, Kai is smart enough to drop into 10 and make space for jesus to run in behind , ya let’s hope for big year but reinvest Eddie’s money in a striker of Gyorkois or the likes to make sure we have a full title push.
Anyone hear of an ivan toney Ramsdale swap deal?
I still think we need a striker though, even at his best Jesus is not a 20 goal a season player, 10-15 at a push. And he has got to cut out the going to ground far to easily, I don’t like to see that
Who is available? The only clear upgrades on the market (Isak, Osimhen) would be 100m plus, which we don’t have unless we want to forget about strengthening midfield.
I have to say that Nweneri is looking more and more like that elusive Xhaka partner for Declan in midfield. And he’s only going to get bigger ‘n better.
Going to ground easily, Wenger said that of RVP and we all know what happened after it was fixed.
He’ll never be a 20-25 goal a season player but if we can him back to the levels he was when he first joined that will be a massive massive boost
“Jesus: I’m in different shape.” Transubstantiation.
Funny
As long as that shape isn’t round.
is that the new tube stop for Emirates?
To improve on last season, if we can get 10-15 goals out of Martinelli, better support for him on the left, and keeping Jesus injury free, I don’t think we need to busy another striker if Havertz will also be utilized like last season. We should invest in our midfield to provide serious competition for Rice and Odegard. We can’t play Rice and Odegard every game. I wish we could, but it’s unrealistic.
Nwaneri is looking more and more like a first team starter, imo. I’m sure that’s part of ArtEdu’s plan.
Definitely need to find ways to get him into the lineup often, all five of our attackers really. It is a very solid group of five with little drop off between any of them and they all offer very different styles and versatility. Saka definitely needs to be rested more (even in games bringing him out earlier in games in which we are ahead big) and Jesus is someone that can play on the right with little drop off from Saka and much more effective than Nelson or Viera playing out wide on the right. A fully fit and energized… Read more »
Born Again Jesus
A “resurrected Jesus”, perhaps?? 😂😂
I hate to be that guy, but he’ll get injured again and be missing for half the season. If he continues to play well in pre-season and a decent offer comes in, I’d take it. Then ship Eddie and buy some quality to compete with Kai. Osimhen would be ideal, but that’s best case scenario I guess
So happy for the fella… none of us can begin to know to what extent he was hampered throughout last season. The telling comment from Arteta, for me, was about the lack of pre-season and essentially starting the season on the back-foot, with no breathing space to ever really catch up.
Must’ve been especially frustrating for the ‘all-in’ heart on sleeve kinda bloke that Jesus clearly seems to be.
Here’s hoping…