LONDON • Gabriel Jesus will lead the line for Manchester City against Arsenal at the Emirates tomorrow and, while his 10 goals in 21 appearances this season mark him out to be one of the English Premier League champions' danger men, he still suffers from confidence issues.
The Brazil forward's hat-trick in the 4-1 Champions League win at Dinamo Zagreb in midweek was his 101th career strike, but his barren run in a 10-game span in October and November made him "want to shoot myself in the head".
Ahead of tomorrow's league trip to north London, Jesus opened up about the anguish he experiences when he fails to score for City, saying: "Honestly, last month, I was no good and I wasn't happy.
"I played games and I didn't score, and I missed chances, so I'm not happy with that. I cannot talk about other players, I can only talk about me. But when I'm not happy, I take it personally.
"I think, 'Oh, my god, I have to score, I have to score, I have to score.'
"When I have the chance, sometimes I miss because I think too much and put too much pressure on myself.
"I try. I'm getting better. I'm working on scoring more and to not think about the pressure. My family help me, so that's the way I try to handle the pressure."
Jesus, 22, is enjoying an extended run in the first team because of Sergio Aguero's continued absence with a thigh injury suffered against Chelsea on Nov 24. But he insisted that there was no rivalry with the Argentina striker.
"I'm in a single competition with Sergio, a friendly competition," he added. "I hope that when he plays, he scores. I always want him to help the team and his teammates. When I play, he does the same, which is amazing."
City will be counting on Jesus to be fully focused on the task ahead, as they could be 17 points behind leaders Liverpool, who play Watford at Anfield today.
Pep Guardiola has several injuries to contend with - John Stones and Aguero have already been ruled out, along with long-term absentees Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte.
David Silva is also questionable, but his team should still fancy their chances against a Gunners side who again looked vulnerable on Thursday night.
Arsenal qualified for the Europa League last 32 as Group F winners after a 2-2 away draw with Standard Liege. But, despite coming back from two goals down through strikes from Alexandre Lacazette and Bukayo Saka, it was far from a convincing display in Belgium.
They have now failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 13 games in all competitions, matching their worst run under former manager Arsene Wenger from October to December 2004.
THE GUARDIAN
