Arteta Impressed By Gabriel Jesus' Revitalised Form In Leverkusen Thrashing

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Mikel Arteta has observed a notable change in Gabriel Jesus since last season. The Brazilian striker impressed during Arsenal's match against Bayer Leverkusen. Jesus, who netted four goals in 27 Premier League games last season, scored a fine goal against the Bundesliga champions on Wednesday.

Arteta has been particularly pleased with Jesus' pre-season performances but has challenged him to be more consistent this year. "I said from day one, the first feeling when I saw him after talking to him at the end of the season is that he was something different," Arteta said. "I could sense it. His energy was different, the way he looks is different, the way he's moving is different. He really wants it."

Jesus struggled to score in his last 10 league appearances after recovering from a knee injury, with Kai Havertz taking over the number nine role during his absence. However, Arteta believes Jesus can find consistency and perform well under various circumstances. "Now it's about finding that consistency and doing it in any context, against any opponent, against any formation, any day, every three days, for 90 minutes, for 30 minutes, for 70 minutes," Arteta added.

The match against Xabi Alonso's team also marked the return of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka to the first team after their Euro 2024 campaign with England. However, Jurrien Timber and new £42m signing Riccardo Calafiori were absent from the squad.

Arteta explained Timber's absence due to minor foot discomfort and emphasized caution given Timber's recent recovery period. "Jurrien had a little discomfort in his foot in the last few days and obviously, after the amount of time he's been out, we didn't want to take any risks with him," Arteta stated.

Regarding Calafiori, Arteta mentioned that they are managing his integration into the team carefully due to numerous changes he has experienced recently. "In regard to Riccardo, so much happened to him in one week! He's come into a new environment with a different methodology and different training, so we are managing him, and we want to do it slowly and in the best way possible," he said.

Upcoming Matches

Arsenal will wrap up their pre-season preparations with a match against Lyon this weekend before facing Wolves at the Emirates Stadium six days later for their Premier League opener.

"Hopefully he will be available to play some minutes on Sunday," Arteta concluded regarding Calafiori's potential involvement in upcoming matches.