Gabriel Jesus has said he is happy to carry the ‘pressure’ of scoring goals as Arsenal’s number nine.
Jesus hit a hat-trick as Arsenal progressed into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Wednesday night.
The Brazil international has faced criticism over the last 18 months due to a modest goal record. Jesus has scored just four league goals in 40 appearances for Arsenal since the start of last season, but is hopeful his hat-trick in cup competition and be the start of an improved record.
“It feels amazing,” he said to Arsenal’s official website at full-time.
“Obviously the first half wasn’t our best, but still in the second half we did our job, we created more, we kept the ball more, circulated the ball, made passes and then Martin (Odegaard) put in two amazing balls in the end and B (Bukayo Saka) as well, and I could finish the action..
“The quality that Martin has is amazing. He’s a type of a player that can pass these balls and put you in front of the goal. That’s what I was telling him; I said “Martin I know your qualities, so I’ll go in behind. If it’s open, I go, you don’t need to look, I will be there.” He played amazing balls [in behind] and I was able to finish the action.
“B as well, but I think everyone today tried their best, it’s not easy when you change a lot, normally we don’t play together a lot in the games, and that’s a little bit tricky. At the end we did our job and won the game.”
After facing criticism for missed chances in the recent win over Monaco, Jesus said he has been working with the club’s coaches to improve his composure around goal.
“Against Monaco I missed two clear chances, but they were more difficult than today,” he said.
“Obviously, I was disappointed that I didn’t score in that game. At the end, I just have to keep my mind clear and strong, work like I work with [coach Hussein] Isa every day and he told me: “Look Gabby, you’re quality, you need to be calm and then you’ll score.” That’s what I did today and I’m happy to come back to score goals, because I have the number nine and the pressure will always be there to score goals. That’s it, that’s the challenge.”
