Jesus belongs at Arsenal

It was January 12, 2025, when Gabriel Jesus clocked his last 40 minutes for Arsenal before a severe ACL tear stopped his meteoric rise in form. Eleven days earlier, he scored his last goal in a 3-1 road win against Brentford.

Moreover, in his last seven games before the injury, he netted six times, giving the Gunners' fans a ray of hope that he'd at last reach the level they expected him to be on. But then, suddenly, everything was cut short.

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In fact, it was an epitome of the Brazilian's spell in North London - a period of stagnation, a rise in form, a fresh glimmer of hope, and a painful end caused by a new injury. It was a vicious circle Jesus couldn't escape from.

As a consequence of a harsh ACL tear, the striker missed 11 months, returning to the pitch just three weeks ago against Club Brugge in the Champions League. In the meantime, Mikel Arteta had such major problems with the offensive line that he made the midfielder Mikel Merino a centre-forward, and the Spaniard did a terrific job.

In the previous June Transfer Window, the club splurged €65.8 million for Sporting Lisbon's scoring machine Viktor Gyokeres. Jesus' days at Emirates seemed numbered.

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Yet, the Swede has struggled with adaptation to the Premier League's style of play, and still hasn't found his genuine form. He did score seven goals in 20 games this season (five in 15 EPL appearances), but the fans aren't satisfied, as the expectations were much higher.

At the same time, Jesus was gradually getting more minutes on the pitch, and the culmination came last night when the Brazilian scored the fourth goal in Arsenal's crushing 4-1 triumph over Aston Villa - his first goal after almost a whole year, or 363 days, to be precise.

And he marked it properly and in style - recreating the legendary Kaka's iconic celebration - taking off his jersey and revealing a T-shirt underneath, with a short but powerful message - I belong to Jesus.

The crowd at the packed Emirates, his teammates, and even Arteta and his assistant, Gabriel Heinze, celebrated the goal ecstatically, demonstrating their joy at the Brazilian's resurgence.

In a short period of time since his return, the Gunners' #9 proved that he still has plenty to offer to the Premier League table-toppers and that - despite his frequent injuries, which will hopefully ease over time - he deserves to be one of them.

Gabriel Jesus belongs at Arsenal.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 19

Tuesday

Burnley - Newcastle 1-3 (1-2)

/Laurent 23 - Joelinton 2, Wissa 7, Guimaraes 90+3/

Chelsea - Bournemouth 2-2 (2-2)

/Palmer 15 pen, Fernandez 23 - Brooks 6, Kluivert 27/

Nottingham Forest - Everton 0-2 (0-1)

/Garner 19, Barry 79/

West Ham - Brighton 2-2 (2-1)

/Bowen 10, Paqueta 45+4 pen - Welbeck 32 pen, Veltman 61/

Arsenal - Aston Villa 4-1 (0-0)

/Gabriel 48, Zubimendi 52, Trossard 69, Jesus 78 - Watkins 90+4

Manchester United - Wolverhampton 1-1 (1-1)

/Zirkzee 27 - Krejci 45/

Thursday

20.30: (2.25) Crystal Palace (3.35) Fulham (3.25)

20.30: (1.53) Liverpool (4.20) Leeds (6.25)

23.00: (2.35) Brentford (3.40) Tottenham (3.00)

23.00: (7.25) Sunderland (4.40) Manchester City (1.45)

***odds are subject to change***