MY ACCOUNT
Mikel Arteta hailed Gabriel Jesus for raising standards at Arsenal after the Brazilian scored two goals and registered two assists in a thrilling win over Leicester City.
Arsenal made it two wins from two Premier League matches with a 4-2 victory over the Foxes at Emirates Stadium on Saturday as Jesus recorded his first competitive goals since arriving from Manchester City for £45million in July.
In doing so, Jesus became the first player to score more than once on his home Premier League debut for the Gunners, while the 25-year-old is also the first Arsenal player to double up for goals and assists in a league game since Theo Walcott against Newcastle United in December 2012 (three goals and two assists).
The signing of Jesus, a four-time Premier League champion, was lauded as a coup for a side that missed out on Champions League football last term, and Arteta has been delighted by his strong start.
“I think it lifts the standards with the way that he’s training every day and the way that he’s talking,” said the Arsenal boss.
“I think it’s very natural, but at the same time it’s pretty impressive to do it that quickly, but then we are asking other players to score goals as well.
“If you want to be at the top then we’re going to have to score a lot of goals and we cannot rely on two or three players.
“We know what Gabby can do. He scored two and assisted two and he’s still disappointed in the dressing room because he said he could have scored four.
“That’s the standard, that’s the mentality that if you want to go to a different level, you need that mentality.
“I wouldn’t like to play against him. I have never been a defender, but I can imagine that they don’t enjoy it. He’s so mobile, so intuitive and is always sharp and proactive to play in any moment and any phase of the game and he’s a real threat.”
Jesus’ opener made him the 12th Brazilian player to score for Arsenal in the Premier League, the most of any club in the competition’s history.
The forward only made 21 Premier League starts during his final season with City, but has assumed a central role since heading to the Emirates.
And Arteta recognises the importance of managing his workload, adding: “We are going to demand him to start a lot of games, so we have to manage that load and the way that we train is different.
“We have to be on top of that and hopefully we are.”
