Gabriel Jesus: 4 reasons Arsenal should sign Man City striker
3. Gabriel Jesus Has Quality in Abundance
Sure, he may be a bargain, at a good age, and have experience of the division. But is he actually half decent?
Yes, he is.
Any player will struggle for regular minutes at Manchester City. It’s Manchester City, after all. What he is is the definition of a team player. A true work horse. Someone who does will sacrifice his own contributions for the sake of the collective. Arteta will like that.
Technically there is a lot to like as well. Jesus has incredibly quick feet in tight spaces, can go either side on both feet and is a really precise passer of the ball. While he isn’t the tallest striker in the world it’s one of the least essential qualities required for Arsenal (especially with another option coming in), but he uses his body well.
Dropping deep to hold up play or link with others, this aspect of his game is heavily underrated. When Man City do go long he’s their best outlet, as his excellent jumping and pace in behind help them play with verticality.
There is so much to like: quick, clever, dedicated, energetic, creative and technical. What is missing? It’s plain to see the drawback comes in the form of his ruthlessness in front of goal. Yet to come into his prime, he still isn’t an elite striker of the ball and the lack of confidence in front of goal is something he needs to work on.
Across his time in the Premier League he’s underperformed his xG by around 20 (meaning he’s scored 20 fewer goals than he should have), although he answered some critics when he went and bagged four goals against Watford last time out.
From a profile perspective he really does suit Arsenal.
Is he the one to rest the main goalscoring burden on? Perhaps not, but he has so much potential on top of an already excellent all-round skill set.
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