Gabriel Jesus laughs off criticism of goalscoring record
- Jesus recently confessed scoring goals was not his 'strong point'
- Brazilian striker netted his fifth goal of the season against Lens
- Gunners are interested in signing a new striker
By Tom Gott
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has hit back at critics of his goal record, insisting only "those who understand football" truly appreciate his game.
Jesus recently shocked fans and rivals alike by admitting scoring goals is not his "strong point", but he sent the perfect message with a goal and an assist in the Gunners' 6-0 mauling of Lens in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Arsenal are known to be looking at signing a new striker in 2024, with Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic and Brentford's Ivan Toney among those under consideration, but Jesus is not concerned by the speculation or those doubting his ability.
"This happens you know, maybe it can be agents talking about a lot of things," he said. "Sometimes it is like this, it happened when I was at [Manchester] City even with [Sergio] Aguero and me scoring. I was scoring a lot and people was linking everyone.
"So here, I don't care about this. I know what my qualities are and I know what I can bring to the team. I can score and I can also help with other things, like opening spaces. But the only people who can see it are those who watch the game and understand. Those who don't understand will say, 'Oh, he didn't score today'.
"But maybe I run and open space for someone and then, let's be honest, I don't miss a lot of chances. I think it is not about, 'He doesn't know how to score'. Sometimes I have to be more in the box, that it is the one thing I am working on."
Among Jesus' biggest fans is Arsenal teammate Kai Havertz, who picked the Brazilian ahead of the likes of Olivier Giroud and Romelu Lukaku as the best striker he has ever played alongside.
"He's the best [striker I have played with]," Havertz told Football Daily. "I see it in every training session.
"It's an honour to play with him. You see his quality on the pitch, he is amazing, he is one of those players who can turn a game around by himself.
"He scores a lot of goals. He is not only a goalscorer, he can link up so well and help with the build-up play.
"He is so good for the team and helps everyone on the pitch."
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