Should Arsenal fans be concerned by Jesus' goal drought?
When Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus in the summer, they were never really bringing in an out-and-out goalscorer in the same mould as Erling Haaland or Dusan Vlahovic, the latter linked with a move to the Gunners back in January. Jesus only scored eight league goals for Manchester City last season, and four of those came in a resounding 5-1 win over Watford in April.
In addition, though, Jesus registered eight assists; no player for City returned more as they again secured the Premier League title. As has been the way Arsenal have played under Mikel Arteta, the starting striker needs to bring more than goals to his game to shine on the Gunners frontline.
Putting the ball in the back of the net is the bare minimum for any striker, but as the game has evolved, the frontman is required to do more both on and off the ball. There is a greater onus to be involved in the link up play in order to bring teammates into play. For City, Haaland isn't as involved as others, but then the likes of Phil Foden, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva are expected to provide the ammunition for the Norwegian to score, an approach that has reaped the rewards as noted by his 18 league goals this season.
Having taken no time to adjust to English football, Haaland has scored more goals in 12 appearances than Jesus has managed since the start of the 2021/22 Premier League season (13). It's been nine games now since Jesus scored a goal for Arsenal, that coming in their 3-1 win over Tottenham at the start of October. In that time, the Brazilian has mustered 27 shots without hitting the back of the net, including seven shots in their resounding 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
So should Jesus' goal drought be a concern for Arsenal fans? Well, yes and no. It's not so clear-cut for the Brazilian. From the outside looking in, yes Arsenal supporters should be worred that their new striker has failed to add to his five goals this season since the start of last month. Of course, there are minor worries over when he will end that barren run, but there is more to his game than just putting chances away.
As alluded to, Arteta likes his leading striker to play a particular way. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was never really going to succeed as the lead frontman in Arteta's system. It's nothing personal on Aubameyang, but he relies on maximising his pace and runs in behind the defence, a way Arsenal don't really play, which is why Arteta often preferred to use the now-Chelsea striker from the left rather than through the middle.
It's for that reason, too, that Alexandre Lacazette was a more successful option in attack than the Gabonese forward. Lacazette may have struggled to match his Ligue 1 exploits at the Emirates, yet stylistically, he was a better fit than Aubameyang. Indeed, Lacazette favoured dropping deeper in search of possession, which then granted the widemen the chance to maximise the vacated space in pursuit of goal.
It's no surprise, then, that Saka (11) and Martinelli (6) finished as the club's first and fourth top goalscorers, respectively, in the Premier League last season, while no Arsenal player registered more assists than Lacazette (7), whose 1.5 key passes per 90 placed him fourth for the Gunners. Everything Lacazette did, Jesus does too, just to a much higher standard.
The Brazilian already has five assists to his name - only Saka (6) has more for Arsenal - while 1.7 key passes is the fourth highest. What stands out more than Lacazette though is the retention of possession. Lacazette averaged 22.3 passes per 90 for the Gunners last term, whereas Jesus is making 28.2 passes per 90.
Crucially there is the improvement when it comes to receiving the ball and driving forward in possession that allows Arsenal to press higher up the pitch. No Arsenal player is completing more dribbles per 90 than Jesus (2.1) this season. By comparison, Lacazette was completing just one per 90. After 13 league games, Jesus has completed more dribbles (26) than Lacazette managed in 30 (19).
Arteta and the scouting team clearly needed an upgrade on Lacazette on the frontline, and they got just that in Jesus who is doing everything to a higher standard than the former Gunners forward, and this in turn has elevated the frontline. Arsenal's top rated players this season are Jesus (7.60), Martin Odegaard (7.32), Martinelli (7.31) and Saka (7.30). All of those are huge improvements on last season for the latter trio.
Arsenal have gone from having an attack that showed plenty of potential, to having one of the most fluid frontlines in the Premier League, and Jesus has been key to that. The goals may not be flowing as freely as some supporters may hope, but at least Arsenal are still scoring goals, 31 in fact; only City (39) have hit the back of the net more times in England's top tier this term. 10 different players have now scored for Arsenal, so it's evident there is a fair spread of goals among the squad, which is perhaps what Arteta had in mind when he signed Jesus, and this in turn eases the pressure on the former City star to routinely get his name on the scoresheet.
The Spaniard worked with Jesus during their time together at City, so Arteta was already well aware of the striker's strengths and weaknesses, and he has put this to exceptional use. Jesus may not fire Arsenal to the title in the same way an out-and-out goalscorer would, but even with a lack of goals of late, the 25-year-old has proven one of the signings of the summer, primarily by the way the Gunners' attack has flourished following his arrival.
