“Without him, Arsenal are not the same team” – Rio Ferdinand names Gunners’ most important player
Rio Ferdinand believes Gabriel Jesus is Arsenal's most important player, despite his recent lack of goals.
The Brazilian forward has enjoyed an excellent start to life at the Emirates Stadium since his £46.98 million summer move from Manchester City. Jesus has netted five times and provided six assists in his 12 Premier League appearances, as the Gunners sit two points clear at the top of the table.
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While Jesus is contributing massively for the Gunners, who have won all but two of their league games this season, he has failed to score in any of his previous four games. The forward was not particularly prolific at City either, which has led to some concern as to where the goals will come from.
But Ferdinand is apparently unconcerned by Jesus' lack of goals, as he feels the Brazilian international is helping in plenty of other areas of the pitch. The former England defender told his "Vibe with Five" YouTube channel (as quoted by The Metro):
"Do you know what? I listened to the manager [Mikel Arteta] the other day before this game [against Forest]. He basically said: 'We need our strikers scoring if we’re going to be successful. … We need them to score.' That’s a fact.
"Listen, I still believe he’s Arsenal’s most important player by the way. Without him, Arsenal are not the same team. But he just needs to add goals now. You can’t criticize anything else he’s doing."
Arsenal's attack in 22/23:
Jesus - ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️
Saka - ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️🅰️
Martinelli - ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️🅰️
Odegaard - ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️🅰️🅰️
How many do you own?
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Ian Wright describes Gabriel Jesus' lack of goals as 'only disappointment' of thumping Arsenal win
The Gunners' latest victory was a 5-0 triumph over the Premier League's bottom club in the standings, Nottingham Forest, in which Jesus provided two assists.
But Arsenal legend Ian Wright was clearly slightly concerned about the Brazilian striker's recent run, as the pundit stated:
"Arsenal need goals. They need goals from wherever they can get them from. Unfortunately for Forest, we gave them a bit of a beating today, but that’s what we need.
"We need people getting in the box, taking opportunities to shoot and score. We’ve got five goals today and our center-forward hasn’t scored. Everybody is talking about it. You’re hoping it’s just something. … He’s got a couple assists, but we want our center-forward scoring as well."
Wright added:
"Jesus had a very good chance. He’s got to hit the target there. He’s just in that form at the moment. He looks a little bit clunky. He seems to be attracted to the ball. There’s no reason for him to do that. I’d rather he stayed up there [leading the line]. We’ve got enough players to do that. He can make runs. That’s where you want him."
13 - Gabriel Jesus has assisted 13 goals in the Premier League since the start of last season, the third-most of any player after Kevin De Bruyne (17) and Mohamed Salah (16). Multifaceted. https://t.co/xRBJBfFUco