Football: Arteta backs Jesus to end goal drought
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Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus and FC Zurich's Nikola Katic during the Europa League match at the Emirates Stadium on Nov 3, 2022.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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LONDON – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is backing Gabriel Jesus to rediscover his scoring touch soon, after the striker failed to find the net in the 1-0 Europa League win over FC Zurich on Thursday, extending his recent goal drought to eight games.
Brazil’s Jesus, who has netted five goals in 17 games for Arsenal in all competitions since he joined them from Manchester City in the close season, last scored in a 3-1 Premier League victory over rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Oct 1.
Speaking ahead of the Gunners’ Premier League trip to Chelsea on Sunday, Arteta said: “That’s going to change (his bad luck).
“He’s getting the situations, he’s getting the chances, he’s contributing to the team an awful lot. He’s helping to win matches, the way he competes for every ball in every single action is incredible.
“It will come, he needs to be patient. He’s been through that in the past and he needs to learn those lessons and don’t stop doing those other things that he’s doing so well, because that’s going to maintain the level of him and the team.”
Jesus is not the only striker who will be in the spotlight in the London derby. Former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined Chelsea on transfer deadline day in the summer, will face the Gunners for the first time since he left.
The Arsenal boss is wary of the threat that Aubameyang can pose, saying: “We made decisions. We discussed things and we made a clear decision between all of us.
“You know, if Auba’s got something, it’s the ability to put the ball in the back of the net and he’s going to be doing that (until) the day that he decides he’s had enough of football.”
Arteta, like most of his fellow managers in the Premier League and Europe, has also had to manage his players’ workload amid a tight schedule ahead of the Nov 20-Dec 18 World Cup.
The Spaniard has urged his players to give it all they have got for this last stretch.
“We’re going to need everybody now. We have managed the load of the players in the last four weeks because of the amount of games that we have played,” he said.
“It is very difficult to get the balance and to get the right performances and win matches, and resting some players and keeping them fresh is always challenging, we have tried to do our best.” REUTERS, AFP
