Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus for scoring twice against Leicester City, as well as sending a message to Arsenal supporters over William Saliba.
The Gunners ran out 4-2 winners at home on Saturday, with Jesus the star of the show. He opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a deft shot into the top far corner.
And Jesus’ brace was secured just over 10 minutes later. Leicester failed to deal with a corner and this allowed the Brazilian to head home from just a couple of yards out.
Leicester got one back after the break, as James Justin headed a dangerous ball into Jamie Vardy’s path. William Saliba had to react and he was unfortunate to see his header go in for an own goal.
The Foxes couldn’t get level though as a Danny Ward mistake allowed Granit Xhaka to make it 3-1.
James Maddison dragged Leicester back into contention with a goal of his own, only for them to concede again a minute later. This time it was Gabriel Martinelli, who finished on his left foot from outside the box.
At his post-match press conference, Arteta said (via football.london): “I’m more happy today than I was last week with Palace because of how he reacted to the own goal.”
Arteta then thanked the Arsenal fans for applauding Saliba following his big mistake. “What they did with Saliba after the own goal is something I’ve never seen anything like that in my career. I think it lifted Willy’s confidence.”
Mikel Arteta praises Jesus
On Jesus, Arteta revealed the 25-year-old’s brilliant mentality when it comes to bagging goals.
“We know what Gabi can do,” he said. “He scored two and got two assists and is still disappointed because he thinks he should have scored four. You need that mentality to go to the top.
“[I’m] really happy. A good football match from both sides. Overall delighted because we got the result we want.”
Gabriel Jesus ‘so happy’ with Arsenal performance
During a post-match interview with Premier League productions, goalscorer Jesus said: “I am so happy because we played so good against a tough opponent.
“I work all day every day to score goals. I was not unhappy at Manchester City, I just wanted to play and the club understood.”
Jesus was in top form during pre-season, leading many Arsenal fans to believe he could be in for a great campaign. And the Brazilian appears to be high in confidence, which means the supporters’ wishes could come true.
He will be looking to put in another top performance when the Gunners come up against Bournemouth next weekend.
