The Brazilian was concerned in two targets as the Premier League champions proved they continue to be a potent attacking drive even with out a basic No.9
Manchester City 5-0 Arsenal: Match Statistics
Gabriel Jesus just isn’t serving to Pep Guardiola’s seek for a striker – however for all the appropriate causes.
Manchester City have been in the hunt for a alternative for membership legend Sergio Aguero all summer season, however with simply three days remaining till the switch window closes, it seems like that search will likely be fruitless.
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The three-month chase of Tottenham centre-forward Harry Kane ended earlier in the week and City finally backed out of a deal for the prolific Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who has agreed to affix Manchester United as a substitute.
Guardiola insists he’s joyful along with his attacking choices and the truth is that with the addition of British transfer-record signing Jack Grealish, he basically has a stronger squad than the one which final season received the Premier League and reached the Champions League closing.
Aguero was lacking for a lot of the marketing campaign via sickness and damage, and Jesus was unavailable for giant components, and inconsistent for others.
On paper, he’s the one senior striker on the membership however more and more his strengths are as a winger and he has informed Guardiola that it is a place in which he feels extra snug.
The Brazilian has a good strike-rate since arriving at City in January 2017. His purpose in Saturday’s 5-0 rout of Arsenal means he has now netted 83 occasions in 198 appearances for the membership.
But there have been occasions throughout his 4 years on the Etihad when he has endured goalless streaks, and his ache and frustration have been clear.
There have additionally been loads of events when he has checked out his simplest as a winger, not least a memorable efficiency on the Santiago Bernebeu the place he scored and shone in a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid.
With gamers coming again at totally different, Jesus began final week’s 5-0 victory over Norwich as a proper winger and arrange three of the targets, though he was solely accredited with just one help.
Guardiola went with the identical facet in opposition to Arsenal and it was Jesus who proved instrumental in carving out the opener.
Latching onto a floated lengthy go, he held off Kieran Tierney and, after neat work with Bernardo Silva and Kyle Walker, he delivered a good cross for Ilkay Gundogan to go residence.
He then scored the third when he poked residence Grealish’s low cross from six yards’ out, however after making the type of out-to-in run that has made huge gamers such as Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez worthwhile goal-scoring property on the Etihad.
Jesus stays a beautiful possibility via the center, as Guardiola adores his excessive power and excessive urgent of ball-playing centre-backs.
Of course, the difficulty of whether or not City desperately need a extra orthodox No.9 was by no means going to be settled a method or one other in opposition to a defence as fragile and open as Arsenal’s.
But Ferran Torres, who’s shifting in the other way to Jesus, switching from huge man to entrance man, once again revelled in a central position, scoring twice in opposition to the Gunners.
Tougher exams lie in wait, although.
Arsenal, it should be reiterated, had been abysmal – although hardly helped by a Thirty fifth-minute pink card for Granit Xhaka’s two-footed sort out – and City appeared to nearly take issues straightforward on Guardiola’s former assistant Mikel Arteta as they strolled via the second half.
There will likely be video games when City will miss having a centre-forward however Arsenal at residence wasn’t one among them.
For now, it simply appears that in Jesus they’ve discovered themselves one other goalscoring winger.
