Jesus and Martinelli form 'Very good timing' for Arsenal

Both Brazilians have found their shooting boots over the last few weeks, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta highlighting the timing of the return to form.

Crystal Palace FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Crystal Palace FC v Arsenal FC - Premier League | Crystal Pix/MB Media/GettyImages

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is loving the return to form of his Brazilian attackers in the absence of Bukayo Saka.

When the news came through that Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka would be out for eight weeks with a hamstring injury, you could hear the collective groan from Gunners fans all around the world.

With Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus struggling for form, many wondered exactly where the goals were going to come from.

Well, fast forward a couple of weeks and Jesus and Martinelli have found Michael Jordan's "secret stuff" from Space Jam and have emerged as goal-scoring threats once again.

After having just one goal in 19 appearances in all competitions, Jesus has hammered home seven goals in his last five, while Martinelli has two goals in his last three league games as the pair have done their part to help cover the loss of Saka.

And the timing couldn't have been better.

"Very good timing, both of them, really important," Mikel Arteta said via arsenal.com. "It’s a big quality of our team to share the goals across the team. Today, we’ve done it again, scoring three very different ways. It’s great, that’s what we need, people up front has to be firing, has to be with that feeling and they are with that feeling right now. They are so consistent with the way they behave, they train, they want it and goals are about moments as well and about the feeling and the energy that a player is in right now, they’re in a good mood right now."

FBL-ENG-PR-BRENTFORD-ARSENAL
FBL-ENG-PR-BRENTFORD-ARSENAL | JUSTIN TALLIS/GettyImages

In the last three league matches, the Gunners have scored nine goals with the Brazilian pair responsible for five of them. That is the kind of return fans have been craving for.

We saw with Jesus that all he needed was confidence after having dealt with injury and form issues over the last 18 months, and his hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup has been the catalyst for his impressive performances of late.

The same can be said for Martinelli.

Often getting into good areas but his final ball was severely lacking, but he seems to have found it recently and when a goal-scoring chance comes his way, he's not fluffing his lines, he's scoring them.

With no Saka for the forseeable future, the Brazilian pair will be called upon to help shoulder the load, and while it is only a small sample size, both have answered the call.

Very good timing, indeed.

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