Mikel Arteta lavishes praise on Gabriel Jesus after outstanding Arsenal debut
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Gabriel Jesus following the new signing's hugely impressive debut on Friday.
Jesus - who completed a £45m transfer from Man City on Monday - was introduced as a half-time substitute in the Gunners' friendly with FC Nurnberg in Germany, at which point they were surprisingly 2-0 down.
However, the Brazilian forward immediately set about getting his new side back into the game - pulling one goal back with an emphatic finish within 90 seconds of his introduction, helping to force two own goals and finally producing a deft flick to grab his brace with 15 minutes to play as Arsenal eventually ran out 5-3 winners.
It was a performance that has got supporters' tongues wagging, and Arteta was among those to have been excited by what he saw.
“He’s all energy,” the head coach told Arsenal's official website. “You see his enthusiasm, he’s always smiling, he’s always talking to his teammates and apart from that I think he brings a different level of desire and commitment and enthusiasm, so I think it’s really good.
Reacting to Jesus' goals, Arteta continued: “That’s why we brought him here, to put the ball in the back of the net and obviously for his confidence and for him to believe in what we are doing I think it’s really important and he’s settled really well.
“I know him really well because I worked with him before and I know that there’s not going to be any issue there.”
Listen now to 90min's Arsenal podcast The Chronicles of a Gooner with host Harry Symeou.
Speaking after the match, Jesus said: "I'm so, so proud. I’m proud to be here at this big club.
"I’ve completed four or five days together with the lads, and I just want to say thank you to everyone at Arsenal because they make me feel at home. Everyone is talking, coming to me and saying ‘good luck, we are happy to have you here’, and I’m happy to be here as well. That makes me feel at home."