Gabriel Jesus is already enjoying life at Arsenal and we take an early look at how many goals he could score in his debut season at the Emirates.
THE LOWDOWN: STRONG EARLY IMPRESSION
Jesus only joined Arsenal from Manchester City in July but it seems like he has been at the club for much longer. The £45m marquee signing was tipped to excel at the Emirates but has maybe even exceeded early expectations.
A respectable tally of seven goals in pre-season left Arsenal fans thinking of what is to come, with the Gunners’ attack taking a new shape after the arrival of the Brazilian.
In no time at all, Jesus has already become a fan-favourite and has even become highly respected in the club’s dressing room, which saw him appointed as one of Arsenal’s deputy captains alongside Granit Xhaka.
The 25-year-old already has two Premier League goals and three assists to his name and could have easily scored double that amount. He was rather unfortunate not to have scored a hat-trick against Leicester City while also seeing a goal against Bournemouth marginally ruled out for offside.
Many already see Jesus as a major upgrade to Arsenal’s previous options in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette but just how prolific can the Brazilian be in front of goal?
HIS STYLE OF PLAY WILL HELP HIM SCORE A LOT AT ARSENAL
Jesus is the proper idea of a modern forward and one that perfectly suits the profile that Mikel Arteta wants. A quick forward on and off the ball, his positional awareness and elite movement in the box is what makes him a menace to defenders while playing for Arsenal.
His numbers against Leicester City pretty much sum up the above claim. Gabriel Jesus had 15 touches in the opposition box against Leicester City, the most by an Arsenal player in the last seven seasons at least. Put in perspective, Alexandre Lacazette managed 31 touches in the opposition box in total across 20 Premier League starts last season.
Jesus’ eagerness to always create a chance or a shooting opportunity, coupled with his runs, makes him difficult to shutout by defenders. It is why he has already grabbed assists as well and will be expected to add to those numbers in the course of the season.
HOW MANY GOALS WILL JESUS SCORE FOR ARSENAL?
It’s only early days and we can all take the advice of captain Martin Odegaard, who has warned that Arsenal fans and players take it all one game at a time, while stating the fact that the Gunners are yet to achieve anything.
However, it won’t be out of reach to expect 15 Premier League goals from Jesus. Provided he stays fit for a good part of the season, I am tipping him to hit that amount at the very least and maybe even do better.
Taking all competitions into account, 20-25 goals in his debut season won’t be a bad return for the forward. His numbers from other competitions could be limited, due to the presence of Eddie Nketiah, who is expected to play in cup competitions while Jesus leads the way in the Premier League.