My response to pundits who think Arsenal can’t live without Gabriel Jesus by Patrick S
“Gabriel Jesus is out for a while and that will be a big loss for Arsenal,” Mark Lawrenson told PP News.
“I’m going to go for an upset here and go 2-1 to West Ham. All that momentum that Arsenal built up before the World Cup counts for nothing now because of the layoff.
I don’t really understand what Lawrenson was thinking when he made this prediction. Perhaps he seems to think that all of Arsenal’s success this season was down to Jesus and that without him, they’d definitely lose their way!
Now, I find such a claim absolutely wretched, especially coming from a man of Lawrensen’s experience. Arsenal are a team not blessed with superstars all over the pitch and it is hard to compare their players to the likes of Man City’s in terms of their individual quality. What they have in plenty though is togetherness, work ethic and a solid structure. That has not gone away.
Yes, Jesus is now out and it’s a huge blow as his value to the team is clear for all to see. But there’s a solid foundation for the team to continue to perform.
1. The resources in defense are all there as no Arsenal defenders were used at the World Cup (except 40 mins for Saliba)
2. All the midfield players are still as they were before the World Cup, with none out with injury.
3. Emile Smith-Rowe is inches away from a return to action.
4. Jesus’ injury came at a great time when there was no competitive action, which allowed Arteta all the time he needed to figure out how his team would play without their talismanic forward. Additionally, the January window is two games away from being open, meaning that Edu and Arteta have the opportunity to address the challenges the team is faced with by looking at the market. Indeed the manager has confirmed that he’ll be active.
5. Gabriel Martinelli. If Arteta wants a replica of Jesus, he already has one in the young winger. He possesses all the attributes that Jesus does. He runs all day, defends, dribbles, harries defenders, creates chances and scores goals, just like Jesus. If Arteta opts for a slightly different type of striker, he has Nketiah who showed at the back end of last season that he can score goals.
6. The market is littered with all sorts of options. Wilfried Zaha, Marcus Thuram, Moussa Dembelé (all those coming to the end of their contracts) while Joao Felix is being touted around after falling out with his manager Diego Simeone and finally, there’s Cristiano Ronaldo who’s a free agent.
So, there’s absolutely no need to panic!
Ssekatawa Patrick
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