"Really poor" - Jamie Carragher criticizes Arsenal star for what he did in 1-0 Aston Villa defeat
Pundit Jamie Carragher criticised Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus after he passed up a good chance to score in the clash against Aston Villa on Saturday, December 9.
The Gunners lost 1-0 at Villa Park in the Premier League. John McGinn scored via a Leon Bailey assist in the seventh minute as Aston Villa carved open the visitors. Both sides created multiple opportunities but failed to capitalise on them.
As the north London side pushed for an equaliser in the second half, Jesus was played in and a good touch would've seen him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. However, the Brazilian's touch was poor and the chance went begging.
Carragher commented on the incident, saying on Sky Sports (via The Boot Room):
“This would have been a lot more dangerous if Gabriel Jesus could have sorted his first touch out he was in. It’s really poor."
Jesus was eventually replaced in the 82nd minute by Eddie Nketiah. The Brazilian striker completed 2/5 dribble attempts, won five of his 14 ground duels, completed 16/20 passes, and made one key pass.
Jesus joined Arsenal from Manchester City last summer but has arguably been underwhelming. While his dribbling skills have been impressive, the 26-year-old has scored 17 goals in 49 games and provided 11 assists.
Mikel Arteta rues Arsenal's missed opportunities in defeat at Aston Villa
The Gunners were pushed on the back foot early in their clash against Aston Villa after John McGinn's seventh-minute goal. However, they fought back from there and pushed for an equaliser.
Arsenal had 61% possession and made 12 attempts on goal, with five being on target as compared to Villa's 10 attempts with three on target. The Gunners thought they scored in the 90th minute via Kai Havertz but the goal was disallowed due to a handball by the German.
After the game, Mikel Arteta rued the big chances his side failed to capitalise on, saying in the press conference (via Arsenal.com):
"We had so many big opportunities, some of them we didn’t even finish when they were completely open. We had to pick the right player to shoot and when we did it two or three times it was an open goal almost and we didn’t manage to score, but there’s not much more that we can demand from the team to play every three days.
"To play the way they’ve done, I am really pleased, but disappointed because in the end we didn’t have the result that we wanted."
Arsenal are second in the Premier League, one point behind Liverpool and a point above Aston Villa. They will next travel to face PSV Eindhoven in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, December 12.