Who is: Gabriel Jesus

Background

Gabriel Jesus signed to Arsenal from Premier League champions, Manchester City in early July for a fee of around £47m. This landmark signing signals the intentions of Arsenal over the coming season and shows the club's willingness to spend big to get the necessary players.

At Manchester City, Gabriel Jesus had a multitude of players to compete with for the number 9 role and the arrival of Erling Haaland was the signal for Jesus to join his former Assistant Manager in Mikel Arteta.

Jesus showcased his versatility for Man City during the 21/22 season, playing down the right of a front three or leading the line in attack as the number 9. With Arsenal having let go of Aubameyang and Lacazette prior to the new season, only Folarin Balogun and Eddie Nketiah are natural choices upfront- the latter of which enjoyed a good spell of form when he was given the chance to lead the line for Arsenal in the second half of last season. However, Arsenal needed a proven and reliable striker to increase their chances for success in the 22/23 season.

Analysis

Taking a look at how Jesus has performed at Man City, it is clear that he is a good fit for Arteta's system.

Taking a look at how he compares against other strikers in the top 5 leagues, it should be no surprise that he will compliment the strengths that Arsenal built on last season.

Arsenal had a large majority of goals scored by non-strikers in the 21/22 season so this allows us to identify two initial metrics that should be important- npxG (non-penalty expected goals) and xA.

With an xA that puts him in the top 9% of the compared strikers, he will compliment regular goal-scorers in Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka very well and create a lot of opportunities as demonstrated with 3.35 shot-creating actions per 90.

Jesus managed to match his goals to his npxG last season, with an expected 0.44 goals per 90. Given that he only played 55% of total match time in the Premier League last season (Harry Kane played 94.5% of total match time), it can be expected that his overall tally of 8 goals and 8 assists should increase substantially under Mikel Arteta - given he gets the playing time required.

He is a standout striker technically - falling into the top 1% of passes completed, top 4% of dribbles completed and top 3% of progressive carries among his positional peers. This can indicate a few things - firstly, that he is a sensible player who plays less risky passes but is able to use his positional play to find easier creative passes to teammates. Additionally, he loves to counter-attack, as shown by his high level of progressive carries and progressive passes - indicating he is not always the furthest player forward and is adept at hold-up play as well as leading the line.

We can see some of this already from the pre-season friendlies, where Arteta and Jesus have been able to display how they want to play:

Match Performances

We can see some of this already from the pre-season friendlies, where Arteta and Jesus have been able to display how they want to play:

July 17: Arsenal 2 - 0 Everton

This passage of play led to Saka's goal from a Jesus Assist and provides a very good example of how Jesus can be utilised for providing goals.

Snapshot 1:

With Gabriel on the ball, moving into the middle third of the pitch, you can see the Arsenal left-back being marked by an Everton player as well as Martinelli being marked further ahead down the middle and Ødegaard in space towards the bottom right of the image. There is no immediate pressure for Gabriel so he waits for Everton to make the first move.

Snapshot 2:

The player previously marking the Arsenal left-back decides to press Gabriel. This is a trigger for Ødegaard to start a forward run, to overwhelm the Everton centre backs causing one of the players marking Jesus to track Ødegaard instead. Martinelli (top red circle) also uses this trigger to drop deep, creating a gap in the defence and providing a passing option.

Snapshot 3:

With Martinelli now dropped, a large amount of space has opened up in the Everton back line, allowing an easy pass for Jesus to get onto. With one defender marking Saka off screen, Ødegaard runs towards this defender to create confusion and allows for Saka to have more freedom of movement.

Snapshot 4:

Jesus is on the ball and has dropped deep, creating a gap in defence to run into. Ødegaard's run has left him with two markers but none for Saka, who notices this and stays in space.

Snapshot 5:

Martinelli's run forward drew players away from Jesus, giving him two options to pass to ahead of him. Martinelli takes up a position in the space between defenders whilst Ødegaard has allowed space ahead of Saka. Jesus played a pass into the space, which Martinelli narrowly missed but Saka was able to latch on to the end and score from.

July 24: Arsenal 4 - 0 Chelsea

This goal from Jesus showcased his finishing and positional awareness.

Snapshot 1:

With Martinelli having just been dispossessed, he starts to drop out of the front line to give Jesus more room to operate.

Snapshot 2:

Arsenal win the ball back quickly, catching the disorganised Chelsea defence off-guard and with gaps. Martinelli has dropped and drifted across to the centre, bringing his marker into a more central position and providing more space for a pass from Xhaka to reach Jesus in the wider position.

Snapshot 3:

Jesus receives and carries the ball to a shooting position. He has Martinelli ready to receive a pass on his right but decides to attempt an audacious chipped shot that finds the back of the net.

Final Thoughts

It is clear that Arsenal this season are building a structure for Jesus to fit in seamlessly and enjoy his time at the club, whilst the number 9 himself is already lifting spirits and hopes of the players and supporters too. As a player who finished 10th in the league for xG per 90, but 25th for Goals per 90, it is clear that his conversion rates need improvement if he is to make it to the top of the goal-scorers table. He definitely has a way to go to reach the heights of Salah, Son and Ronaldo in this coming season and will be hoping to finish in the top 10 scorers rather than 28th.

Data, Graphics and Video shots credited to whoscored.com, fbref.com & Arsenal media.