Gabriel Jesus hit a much-needed hat-trick for Arsenal in a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
There is life in Gabriel Jesus' Arsenal career after all.
Having only scored one goal in 20 appearances in all competitions this season, for many, the writing was on the wall for Jesus regarding his Arsenal career. Does that change with one outing? That's in the eye of the beholder, but no one can doubt that seeing his hat-trick against Crystal Palace wasn't good for the soul.
Looking like the Jesus of old, the Brazilian was clinical and had endless amounts of energy as he led from the front in a devastating second half. Of course, the first-half display wasn't pretty, but the introductions of Martin Odegaard at half-time and Bukayo Saka with 25 minutes left turned the tide in Arsenal's favor.
Having struggled in front of goal against Monaco in which he missed two guilt-edged chances in the space of a couple of minutes, his hat-trick will no doubt be a big boost to his confidence.
But can this performance be the fire-starter for Jesus to rediscover his form? Mikel Arteta sure hopes so.
"It’s now about consistency, so now obviously this is a moment of a spark that will give him so much confidence not only to him but to the team as well, now we can rely on him to change those games and now we need to take it, and give him more games, give him chances because when a player is in that moment it’s important to continue to do that," Arteta said via arsenal.com.
A confident and firing Gabriel Jesus is a complete game-changer for Arsenal, and if he maintains a level near his performance against Palace, then the second half of the season will take on a whole new outlook.
However, there's a BIG but.
While his efforts against Palace deserve praise, it is important to remember that Jesus had only scored once in his previous 20 appearances in competitions. So, right now, his three-goal performance looks like a blip on the radar.
Now, we are hoping that this is the "spark" that the Brazilian needed to rediscover his form, but what we don't want to see is for Jesus to now go missing. We have seen the need for continuity in game time, and Jesus will likely benefit more than most from a string of games.
Can this performance be the catalyst for Jesus to rise and lead Arsenal to what would, right now, be an improbable title?
Goodness me we hope so.