The key area where Gabriel Jesus particularly improves Arsenal

It didn’t take long for Gabriel Jesus to hit the ground running at Arsenal.

His coolness in front of goal has manifested in all its glory for salivating supporters, but there is another part of his game that has stood out so far: his pressing.

Jesus is widely considered one of the most effective pressers in the Premier League and while his 14.1 pressures per 90 minutes last season weren’t astronomical, you have to take into account just how dominant City were/are with the ball. There’s less opportunity for the likes of Jesus to press. Nevertheless, one of the things you’ll hear the most about the Brazilian is that he just doesn’t stop running. Pep Guardiola even went as far as saying Jesus is the best presser in the world.

Speaking in February, Pep said: “When we need runners and players that help a lot with our high intensity and high pressing, he [Jesus] is the best in the world. Thanks to him we can stay high and be so aggressive.

Pair the relentless Brazilian with Gabriel Martinelli’s 16.5 pressures per 90 and Bukayo Saka’s 15, and Arsenal look to have established a fearsome pressing system high up the pitch.

Pressing was one of Lacazette’s strengths statistically with 18.1 per 90 at a 30.2% success rate. Jesus’ mobility, however, renders his work more effective than the Frenchman. Last season when Nketiah took over at striker to end the year, there was a noticeable uptick in success from pressing with the young Englishman creating goals for himself against Chelsea and Leeds by forcing Andreas Christensen and Illan Meslier into critical errors.

Now, with the arrival of Jesus, both of Arsenal’s strikers can be dangerous while pressing. When Arsenal want to control matches and have the ball, having players with the ability to press and not allow for the opposition to be comfortable with the ball is huge. Last season, the team would be more passive in away matches and often cede control in a manner they’d rarely do at the Emirates.

By creating that pressure, they can grow into the match faster. No match is more evident of that than the 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge. By Nketiah staying on Christensen’s tail, he created the pressure key to his mistake and Eddie was then in a position to pounce, muscle off Sarr, and have a clean finish to open up the scoring.

Another perk of pressing high is that the attackers will be in much better areas following a turnover. Look how quickly we were able to transition against Chelsea in the recent Florida Cup rout. Within the blink of an eye, we’d turned possession over in the Blues half and twice dispatched the ball beyond Edouard Mendy.

Having a striker with the mobility of Jesus will be unbelievably useful for Arsenal’s attack for pressing, chance-creating, and ultimately, scoring goals. It’s a transformative signing.