Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva had said some bold statements recently. The former holding midfielder has backed the fellow Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus for Arsenal’s number 9 role. Gabriel was signed from Man City back in the summer of 2022 for a fee of £45 million. He was brought into the squad to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who left the club on mutual consent.
Arteta had high hopes from the 27-year-old striker coming into the starting xi. But Gabriel didn’t manage to live up to the expectations of the Gunners. As he failed to register his name in the scoring sheet on a regular basis. And he also got sidelined due to injuries for most of the time last season.
In his absence, German forward Kai Havertz played the role of a striker in the latter part of last season. Kai, who was brought into side earlier that summer to play into the middle, adapted the role pretty well. The 25-year-old scored 14 goals (highest) and bagged 7 (joint 2nd highest) assists last season with the Gunners. Kai has managed to continue his top form coming into the new season also.
The German has already scored 6 goals across all competitions for Arsenal this season. He is also on the verge of matching a club record with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry of scoring in eight consecutive home fixtures. It will happen if Kai manages to score against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UCL next week.
Gilberto Silva puts his trust on Gabriel Jesus
After Kai’s performances last season, Arteta has preferred to play the 25-year-old as a striker coming into the new season. Due to that Gabriel Jesus has fallen down the pecking order at the London top flight club. Gabriel recently came into the squad after receiving an injury earlier during the pre-season, has failed to impress the Spaniard. And if he continues to perform like this then he will loose his spot permanently.
However, Gunners legend and fellow Brazilian footballer Gilberto Silva still backs the number 9. Silva believes Gabriel is overall a better player than their current number 1 choice striker. While speaking to bettingexpert.com, he stated,
“Jesus has suffered a lot with injuries and that really gets in the way. You break your rhythm, and you always have to start over. It’s a huge challenge for any player. But injuries have had a big impact on Jesus’ loss of space, as he was out of action for a long time.”
Silva even mentioned that Kai only got his chance because the Brazilian was injured. As he believes a fully fit Gabriel is a better player than the German forward.
“It also opened up space for Havertz, who played in positions where Jesus would have played. He ended up doing well there. However, as a nine, Jesus has the potential to do more if he’s healthy. But Havertz came in so well that many people didn’t even think about his absences.”
Gabriel needs to take advantage of the current situation
If Gabriel Jesus wants to stay at the London based club in the upcoming seasons, he will have to prove his worth asap. And there will not come a better time for that to happen. As Gabriel must take full advantage of the current situation at the Gunners camp. Because the likes of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and others are still in doubt for the upcoming fixtures.
Before the next international break in November, the Gunners will play 7 games across all competitions. So, we can see the use of Gabriel Jesus to manage the workload. And it is also rumored that Gabriel can start against Bournemouth this weekend, as Kai isn’t fully fit yet.
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