Gabriel Jesus relieved to be back among the goals

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By Martin Graham | 3rd Apr 2023

Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus is delighted to be back on the pitch after a lengthy-goal drought, which included a spell on the sidelines.

The Brazilian forward suffered a knee injury during the World Cup in Qatar and had to undergo surgery that ruled him out of action for four months.

Prior to that injury, he was already on a run of five games without a goal but his latest feature saw him return to scoring ways.

Gabriel Jesus was named in the starting lineup for Arsenal and bagged a brace as the Gunners calimed a 4-1 victory over Leeds United, to ensure their gap at the top of the Premier League remained at 8 points.

For the Brazilian, it meant an 11-game goal-drought had come to an end and he was pleased with the overall result as well as the individual implications on his path.

Relieved Gabriel Jesus ends goal drought

Speaking after the match, Gabriel Jesus said: “It was so good playing again, starting again and feeling the atmosphere of the crowd,” he said post-match. “The supporters come all together, and the way they support me is massive.

“I just want to say thank you to them for supporting me until the end. It’s not easy when you’re seeing your striker not scoring goals but they always support me.”

There was also a little air of nervousness when Jesus stepped up to take the penalty but the made no mistake from the spot and calmly slotted it home with ease.

“I want to score and I practise [penalties],” he said. “Yesterday I was practising with the guys, so I was confident, I wanted [to take it]. That’s the best way to take penalties.

“The most important thing is always the three points. It doesn’t matter how [we do it], but three points are always the most important thing. Obviously, I want to score, I want to help the team with the goals. I missed a big part of the season and now I just want to play and help the team.”

Reflecting on his time out, he added: “I love challenges. Obviously with an injury and when there’s surgery involved, it’s not easy but if God gives me this challenge, it’s because I can survive and come back stronger.

“I remember day one of rehab, working hard and thinking about the way to come back. If I don’t work hard, I’ll come back soft.

“Obviously, every player wants to play the full 90 minutes, I think I’m ready to play more minutes. However, when the ref said to me I was going off, I was a little bit disappointed because I want to play, but of course I respect the manager and the other players as well. So, it was 60 minutes, but I enjoyed it a lot.”