Pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has insisted Arsenal have a “big problem” with Gabriel Jesus who is letting Mikel Arteta down in his time of need.
Jesus looked an inspired signing during in the first season following his £45m arrival from Manchester City. The Brazilian was a pressing machine and backed up his workrate with end product too, notching 17 goal contributions in 26 Premier League matches.
Injuries have hampered Jesus’ spell since then and the forward’s output has suffered too. Indeed, Jesus returned just four goals and five assists from 27 appearances in the league last season and ultimately lost his place to Kai Havertz.
And on the back of failing to score or assist in 10 appearances across all competitions this season, pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has labelled the striker a “big problem” for Arsenal – especially at a time when Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka are absent.
“I think they’ve got a big problem with Gabriel Jesus,” declared Agbonlahor on talkSPORT. “His form, he hasn’t scored or assisted in 10 appearances this season.
“When he first signed, he got 11 goals and seven assists (all competitions) in his first season in 2022/23. Last season, in 36 games he got eight goals and eight assists (all competitions), which isn’t bad.
“But this season, zero goals and zero assists. You know, when players are injured and not available, they’re starting [Raheem] Sterling in front of him and started other players in front of him. [Against Shakhtar Donetsk] he wasn’t great again, taken off for Sterling before 70 minutes.
“They need Gabriel Jesus up to form, especially with your little injuries to Odegaard and to Saka, he needs to step up.”
READ MORE: The key contract details of every Arsenal first-team player: Expiry dates, weekly wages, agents…
Arsenal chasing £100m-plus striker upgrade
While it’s true to say Jesus has not provided a single goal contribution in 10 matches this term, there is a little bit more to the story.
Those 10 outings have largely comprised substitute appearances, with Jesus clocking just 321 minutes of action in total.
Nonetheless, you would expect a player of Jesus’ calibre at a club of Arsenal’s calibre to provide some end product in that time.
Arsenal sought to sign a new striker over the summer, with Benjamin Sesko their primary focus. The Slovenian would go on to sign a new contract with RB Leipzig and was unwilling to relocate at this stage in his career.
TEAMtalk understands Arsenal would be in the mix if Sesko were to experience a change of heart in 2025. However, we’ve been told that Newcastle’s Alexander Isak has now surpassed Sesko as Arsenal’s No 1 target.
Understandably, Newcastle are desperate to retain their star striker and would demand upwards of £100m before greenlighting a sale.
Latest Arsenal news – Scholes, Carragher make title predictions
In other news, The Independent’s Miguel Delaney has remarkably claimed Arsenal and Liverpool are weighing up bids for Lamine Yamal.
The Barcelona and Spain ace won’t come cheap, with PSG previously seeing a world record bid for Yamal worth €250m rejected by Barcelona.
Elsewhere, Paul Scholes believes Liverpool have surpassed Arsenal as Man City’s main title rival this season. Explaining why, the Manchester United legend pointed to the two squads.
Finally, Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool’s title charge could fall short thanks to a lack of end product from Dominik Szoboszlai in the No 10 position.
The Sky Sports pundit highlighted Martin Odegaard as well as Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden as where Arsenal and Man City hold huge advantages over the Reds.
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