GABRIEL JESUS is adamant Arsenal do not need to go looking for a No 9 – because they have one already.
The Brazilian forward defended his scoring record for the Gunners and says his critics “don’t watch the game”.
Jesus, 27, netted his first Arsenal hat-trick in Wednesday’s 3-2 home Carabao Cup quarter-final win over Crystal Palace.
Before that, the club’s current No 9 had scored just TWICE in all competitions in 2024 – and it was his first goal at the Emirates for a year.
Jesus has 23 goals in 90 appearances since joining Arsenal from Manchester City for £45million in July 2022, although injuries have hampered parts of his time in North London.
He is yet to score in the Prem this term in 13 appearances – starting just twice – as he battles for a spot with Kai Havertz, who has one league goal since mid-October.
Fans have called for Mikel Arteta to splash the cash on a more efficient score.
But Jesus argued: “A lot of people don’t watch the game. They just see the stats the day after and see who scored.
“I want to score every game, like everyone. But sometimes we don’t have chances.
“People say, ‘Gabby played 20 games and scored once’. But they don’t see I am coming on for five or ten minutes.
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“Against Manchester City, I came on as a left wing-back.
“Against Palace was the first game I played a full 90 minutes without cramp, a problem in my life always.
“Sometimes, if you are not playing it is harder to come on and make an impact.
“I am not complaining. I am not happy on the bench but I’m professional.
“I have sometimes been unlucky but I can create, I can run, help the team defending.
“But the pressure to score goals will always be there. I am the No 9 for Arsenal.
“Even if I score ten they will ask for 20 – and if it is 20 they ask for 30. This is the life.”
ARSENAL wasted their chance to capitalise on Liverpool dropping points as they were left frustrated by a resilient Everton.
Here’s how the players rated
DAVID RAYA – 6/10
No save to make. Could have lounged in the dressing room for the majority of the 90 minutes.
MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY – 7
Started where he left off in mid-week in the Champions League, picking up great pockets of space in midfield and linking defence to attack with pace and precision.
GABRIEL – 6
Incredible recovery tackle to deny Doucoure with Saliba down injured. Well marked at corners with Everton doubling up on the Brazilian.
WILLIAM SALIBA – 6
Lucky not to see Everton take the lead when he was down and out of position, but other than that was fairly untroubled.
JURRIEN TIMBER – 5
Tried his best to insert some pace and urgency down the right-hand side but lacking in attacking areas.
DECLAN RICE – 5
A rare anonymous showing from the England international. Did not do enough to impose himself but for a few decent tackles. No shock to see him hooked after 62 minutes.
MIKEL MERINO – 6
Showed glimpses, but still needs to get up to speed with pace Arsenal want to play at through the middle.
MARTIN ODEGAARD – 6
Blazed over and dragged wide from two good early chances – missing his shooting boots in the first half just like against Monaco – and looked generally off it.
It was still a surprise to see him subbed off just after the hour mark for Nwaneri.
BUKAYO SAKA – 7
Had a field day up against Mykolenko as Everton struggled to contain his brilliant movement and strength on the ball, yet Pickford made save after save.
Got in the way of a free Havertz header towards the end.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 6
Lively, especially because he had the beating of Young with some darting runs that kept the 39-year-old busy and was denied by Pickford from a tight angle.
But yet again, was taken off for Trossard.
KAI HAVERTZ – 6
Lacked a serious goal threat but created Arsenal’s best chance with a delicious flick around the corner for Saka.
SUBS:
ETHAN NWANERI (ODEGAARD, 62) – 6
A few nice touches and turns, looking for that trademark left-footed curling finish.
JORGINHO (RICE, 62) – 6
Got on the ball as Arsenal’s primary dictator from deep.
THOMAS PARTEY (LEWIS-SKELLY, 68) – 5
Offered very little.
GABRIEL JESUS (MERINO, 68) – 5
One dangerous cross easily claimed by Pickford was about it.
LEANDRO TROSSARD (MARTINELLI, 74) – 6
A bright spark. A few good crosses as Young tired on the left.
Arsenal face Palace again in the Prem tomorrow, only this time at Selhurst Park.
Jesus could start following his hat-trick, with Jean-Philippe Mateta and ex-Gunner Eddie Nketiah scoring for the Eagles.
But Jesus said: “I have knocked on a manager’s door only one time in my life.
“I knocked on Pep Guardiola’s door – not to complain but to ask him what I could improve.
I would never go to Mikel’s door and say, ‘I want to play’.
Gabriel Jesus
“I would never go to Mikel’s door and say, ‘I want to play’.”
Arteta added: “The movement, the quality of touches, the way he finished, it’s a message we have got Gabi back at his best.”
Jesus recently announced he is expecting another child with his partner – and walked out at the Emirates with his daughter for the first time on Wednesday.
He said: “I would walk out with my nieces and nephews at City and I always scored. My daughter has given me luck.”
By Martin Lipton
MARCUS RASHFORD is at a crossroads.
But now the England star has to make the biggest choice he has ever faced – does he care about cash, or about his career?
Rashford’s shock admission that he is “ready for a new challenge” after some two decades under the Manchester United umbrella has altered the dynamic around his future.
That Rashford might not fit the blueprint of Ruben Amorim – who has now responded to Rashford’s comments – was not exactly a surprise.
The Portuguese coach prefers a 3-4-3 formation but appears to have settled on Rasmus Hojlund as his starting central striker and wants two “narrow” inside forwards, with the width coming from the wing-backs.
Rashford has always wanted to play through the middle but is often at his best exploiting spaces out wide – and that skillset does not necessarily suit the way Amorim wants to play.
Even so, going public with his evident dissatisfaction at being bombed entirely from the squad for the Manchester derby was a major move, even if he vowed there would be “no hard feelings” if he does leave his boyhood club.
In truth, Rashford has been leaving United almost from the moment he signed that new £325,000 per week contract in 2023.
Something was broken in his connection to the club. His form dropped, his threat dissipated, his issues with the hierarchy deepened.
When Erik ten Hag dropped him for hosting a birthday party after a derby defeat, and he later pulled a sickie to miss the FA Cup game with Newport, it felt even then that the writing was on the wall.
The facts suggest the love affair has ended. After scoring 30 in all competitions to earn that new deal, he has scored just 15 in the 18 months since it was signed.
Amorim’s arrival seems merely to have accelerated what was increasingly inevitable.
Now, though, it is up to Rashford to determine what his future will bring.
If it is only about the money, then his options might be somewhat limited.
It is hard to see a Prem rival coughing up the same £16.9m annual salary – although Rashford’s comments have probably knocked £20m-plus off any transfer fee, even next month.
But Real Madrid have their fill of big-money strikers and Barcelona’s budget remains restricted by La Liga financial controls.
In Europe, then, that probably leaves PSG – but a move to a one-club league.
Or, in the wider world, he could follow the likes of Ivan Toney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Firmino and Co and head to the Saudi desert.
Lucrative, yep. Certainly a different environment – and that may be exactly what Rashford both wants and needs. But the football? Not in a million years.
What Rashford needs, above all, is to be able to play for trophies and showcase his talents.
There is no better stage than the Premier League – which has far more global eyeballs on it than any other domestic competition.
And in that Premier League there is one club crying out for a goalscoring No 9, especially if he can also play down the left channel to balance out the side and widen its threat.
Rashford has always been more Longsight than London.
Yet Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta, might be the perfect fit.
The Gunners’ lack of a proper scorer is one of the major factors many fans feel has hurt their title challenge this year.
Gabriel Jesus has never been a natural finisher, while Kai Havertz is still a converted midfielder.
And while the link-up between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka makes their right flank deadly, faith in Gabriel Martinelli on the left is waning.
There have not been too many who succeeded at Arsenal after leaving United – although Danny Welbeck was not a flop.
Rashford has all the attributes to change that history, if he can reproduce what everybody knows is inside him.
And by breaking free, giving himself the chance to start all over, Rashford can make a point to Amorim that will resonate for a very long time.
