Watch: Gabriel Jesus denied goal after sensational dribble in NLD
Gabriel Jesus has made a sensational impact at Arsenal since his summer move from Manchester City and left a trio of Tottenham defenders with twisted blood in the North London derby with a mazy dribble.
Jesus cost £45million and, just a few months into the new campaign, that already looks like a transfer masterstroke.
He has four goals and three assists from his first seven matches and explained how a tactical switch at his former club led him to pursue a new challenge at the Emirates.
“The thing was the way [Guardiola] understands football and what he wanted,” Jesus told ESPN Brazil. “Then it was up to you to accept it or not.
“If you don’t accept it, ‘thank you’ and let’s go for another challenge. I accepted it for a while, but there came a moment when I said, ‘I want another thing for myself’.
“I thanked him, he understood, and we moved on. It is different here at Arsenal. The football is different – different players, different ways to play.
Going on to praise Mikel Arteta, Jesus said:
“I talked a lot with [Mikel] Arteta about Arsenal’s style. He knows me, I know him, I understood what he wanted from me. Now, I’m free on the pitch, playing football with a smile on my face and trying to do my best all the time.”
And that freedom was evident during the first half of Saturday’s derby against Spurs. After Martin Odegaard had slipped him the ball, the Brazil international channelled his inner Ronaldinho by dropping a shoulder to evade Emerson Royal.
Tottenham centre-back Christian Romero was beaten with a shake of the hips but, unfortunately, Hugo Lloris blocked Jesus’ shot and denied him the goal his skill deserved.
Jesus would later get on the scoresheet after capitalising on a Lloris mistake at the start of the second period to give Arsenal the lead.
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