Mikel Arteta has hinted he is ready to give Gabriel Jesus every opportunity to win his starting place after he made an emotional Arsenal comeback in last night’s Champions League win over Brugge.
The Gunners bounced back from Saturday’s agonising defeat at Aston Villa, where they surrendered their unbeaten 18-game run in all competitions and saw their lead at the top of the Premier League reduced to just two points, with a routine 3-0 victory.
Jesus, whose Arsenal career has been ravaged by injury, returned ahead of schedule after nearly a year out of action as a second half substitute and gave a timely reminder of his qualities during a 30 minute cameo.
By contrast, it was another difficult evening for summer signing Viktor Gyokeres who, himself, has just returned to action following a brief spell on the sidelines recovering from a muscle injury.
The Sweden international has shown only flashes of the goalscoring ability which convinced Arenal to pay over £60million for him in the summer and he again looked off the pace against modest opposition.
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With Kai Havertz closing in on his return to full fitness and auxiliary forward Mikel Merino offering Arteta a more than viable alternative, competition for places will be intense, especially with Jesus fit and determined to prove a point.
Asked if Jesus is primed to play a big part in the second half the campaign, Arteta said: ‘Yes, and especially if he continues to perform in the manner that he’s doing and the energy that he’s putting in training.
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‘I think he brings something else, and I was really happy to see that and for him as well, for his confidence to grow, for his teammates to feel him as well because some of them haven’t played with him.
‘So, Gabby has a really special quality where he suddenly connects everybody around him and that’s something that we as a team need and it will make us better.’
He added: I am so happy for him, I think you can see how much we all love him. It’s been a very, very difficult and long journey.
‘For 11 months he’s been fighting against another very difficult injury and to see him back with that smile, with that energy and with that quality in his first performance with us is something really impressive and we’re all delighted for him.’
Who should be Arsenal’s first choice striker?
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Viktor Gyokeres
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Kai Havertz
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Gabriel Jesus
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Mikel Merino
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Sign another one, none of them are good enough
Pressed on whether the former Manchester City star can provide different qualities to those of his other forward options, Arteta said: ‘Yeah, I think they’re kind of a bit more different, you know.
‘Both of them with great qualities, but yeah, very specific in what they bring to the team and individually in their actions and relationships that they meet around them as well. So, it’s good to have two very different players.’
Jesus, himself, looked like he had never been away on his return to the team and nearly capped an eye-catching display with a goal only to see his stinging shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the crossbar.
Should Arsenal fans be worried about Viktor Gyokeres?
Even the most one-eyed Arsenal fan would struggle to rate Viktor Gyokeres’ start to his career with the north London club as anything other than satisfactory.
With just six goals in 22 appearances in all competitions, he has hardly represented the missing ingredient and rendered the search for a prolific centre forward over.
His four Premier League goals have come against Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Burnley, sides who are all involved in a relegation dogfight and he his threat has been easily negated by the top flight’s better defences.
Gyokeres did bully his way to two goals in a 4-0 Champions League in over Atletico Madrid, but the jury very much remains out on a player who many had their doubts about before he signed given the most prolific spell of his career came in Portugal.
With Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus, not to mention Mikel Merino, to call upon it appears unlikely that Gyokeres will enjoy a long, uninterrupted run as Arsenal’s first choice striker between now and the end of the season.
Instead, Arteta is likely to rotate his centre forwards depending on the opposition and Gyokeres’ more physical attributes may well be better utilised in the role of impact substitute in games where the Gunners are chasing a decisive goal.
James Goldman | Head of Sport
It has been an arduous road back to full fitness for the 28-year-old who had been enjoying a purple patch before he was cut down in his prime, suffering a serious knee injury against Manchester United in an FA Cup third round tie.
‘First of all, I want to say thank you to God,’ he said after the game. ‘If it was not for God, I’m 100 per cent sure I would not be here with this mentality, with this health, with this belief.
‘In the first three months, I had a lot of doubts in my head, and then I could be more focused on what God wants from me.’
He added: ‘Everyone was expecting me to score and obviously, I wanted to score. I had some opportunities, but even with that, I’m so happy and so pleased, because to come back and then to have some touches that I had tonight, and then the way I could move, the way I could keep the ball.
‘So with 11 months of helping myself and then feeling scared to come back different, maybe with some limitations, just to walk outside and then play with the boys, I’m so pleased. I feel more than ready.
‘So, I’m here to say God saved my life.’