2 hours ago
2
Gabriel Jesus recently opened up on his emotional return from a long-term injury
Mikel Arteta says Gabriel Jesus is ready to finally start for Arsenal on Tuesday night. But it is not just about the Crystal Palace match, or last week, or this week. It is about the journey and what the Brazilian brings to the club.
A place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup against Chelsea is a stake in this final quarter-final and a moment of redemption for striker Jesus who has not started a game for Arsenal since January 12.
He has been working his way back to match fitness and made his third substitute appearance in the victory over Everton on Saturday. A week ago, Jesus revealed his emotions with a message on The Players Tribune website.
In it he said: ”For me, a day without football is a terrible day. It’s been that way since I learned to kick a ball. After I tore my ACL, I had 300 bad days in a row. When the doctor told me that I would be out 12 months, I mentally collapsed. Thank God, what saved me during that time was my family. I think without them, I would have gone crazy.”
The injury came in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the FA Cup third round at the Emirates. Jesus is expected to replace Viktor Gyokeres in the Arsenal starting XI as Arteta confirmed the forward was desperate to make his first start of the season.
“Yes, he is,” said Arteta. “You can see now, not only in games, every day in training, how much he wants it. He’s going to deserve a chance soon.”
And at the same time, the manager revealed the impact his words and presence have. He added that he has not been surprised by just how sharp Jesus has looked. The number nine has received plenty of praise for his cameos against Club Brugge, Wolves and Everton.
Arteta said: “No, because I was watching when he was seven months already on the pitch and the way he was moving and how much he wanted it.
“He wrote a beautiful letter explaining what football means to him and how it affects his life.” And Arteta believes his ability to elevate and connect with those around him is perhaps his most important strength.
“That’s probably the biggest quality of Gabi, bringing people together, connecting with people and generating a lot of uncertainty in the opponent,” said Arteta.
“When you see him today, the amount of spaces that he was involved in, that’s his biggest quality. So we need to exploit that.”
Should he play, it will be his 100th Arsenal appearance and Arteta spared no detail when asked to explain what has changed in the 28-year-old since his arrival in the summer of 2022.
“Well, it’s been a really intense journey,” said Arteta. “When he joined us, he lifted the belief, the spirit and the energy of the club and the team.
“He gave something very different to what we already had, and it was really impressive, and then he had some very bad injuries that haven’t allowed him to have the consistency that we need from a very important player.
“But he’s back, thanks to his fighting spirit; he’s decided to always prepare the best way. He’s unbelievable, and the team has got it now, and we need to use it.”
Jesus offers the Gunners a very different profile to both Gyokeres and Arsenal’s tie with Crystal Palace was moved to tonight due to the UEFA Conference League responsibilities of Oliver Glasner’s side last week.
Arteta said that despite the quick turnaround of fixtures before Christmas, his side were ready for their “beautiful opportunity” to enter the semi-final of the competition for the third time in five seasons.
“We are used to it,” he said. “It’s the only week that we had a week to prepare. It was this week, the rest until February at least is going to be like this.
“We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition. So we’ll be ready.”
English (US) ·