Will the purchase of a new striker affect Jesus’ career at Arsenal?
As published by JustArsenal recently, our former midfielder Emmanuel Petit has posited that signing a new striker will benefit Gabriel Jesus but that is far from the truth, and here is why.
The 1998 World Cup winner admitted in his words that the Brazilian “lacks the coolness in front of goal” and that makes him unfit to be our first-choice striker for what we want to achieve now and in the future.
He is notorious for missing gilt-edged chances, underperforming his expected goals in the last three seasons in the Premier League, scoring eight goals from an expected 9.8 two seasons ago, 11 from 14 last term, and has scored 4 from 5.4 XG this campaign, per Fbref.com
There is no doubt that Jesus is a good player but he doesn’t have what it takes to become a world-class striker at the moment which explains our search for a new central forward.
It might be argued that due to our recent free goalscoring form, we do not need a central forward and that we can still make do with the inadequacy of the former Manchester City forward, but that argument has been thrown in the bin by Mikel Arteta.
Asked in his pre-match conference ahead of the Gunners’ Premier League clash with Brentford on whether his side’s recent goal-scoring form has changed his thought about getting a new striker, the boss told the club’s official website
“No, the plans that we have for the summer are very clear and were done almost at the start of the season, understanding what we can have, the contract situations that we have with some players, and how we want to improve and maintain the level of the team. This certainly has not changed anything.”
More so, Jesus’ worrying injury record would do him more damage in the presence of a new number 9. He has missed 15 games due to injury this season and was unfit for 17 matches for club and country in the last campaign.
A player’s best asset is his availability and with Jesus lacking that, his place in the team will look more vulnerable when we bring Ferguson or any player that could rival him.
While the 26-year-old can also play as a right winger, we all know that position is that of Bukayo Saka at the moment and it is highly unlikely the former displaces the latter.
Therefore, in contrast to what Petit said, bringing in a new central forward like Ferguson or any other player who can put the ball in the back of the net consistently could spell doom for Jesus’ career at the club.
I confidently predict that he will get his game time reduced and ultimately lose his place in the team which will culminate in his departure from Arsenal.
Abdulkareem Abdulhamid
Do you want to read our whole collection of history articles? Check out our Just Arsenal History section
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
