According to Ian Ladyman, Gabriel Jesus is not a top-tier striker, and without one in their forward line, Arsenal may not be able to defeat Manchester City.
Jesus started in attack for Arsenal in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham in the North London derby, and while he did well overall, he missed a wonderful opportunity to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead in the first half.
Just inside the box, the Brazilian was able to steal the ball from James Maddison, but he was unable to complete the play and sent his effort over the crossbar.
This week, Mail Sport’s Football Editor Ladyman said on the podcast It’s All Kicking Off that wasted opportunities like those demonstrate that Jesus is not a striker on par with the best in the Premier League.
‘Gabriel Jesus not good enough for Arsenal’
“I’m not saying that Gabriel Jesus should be nowhere near an Arsenal shirt. That would be ridiculous. What I’m saying is that I’m not sure that they have an elite striker. And I wonder – when the ultimate aim is to try and usurp Manchester City, who do have an elite striker – whether they can do it without one.”
However, Ladyman persisted in harping on the Arsenal striker, raising concerns about whether Jesus lived up to his potential at Man City and the manager’s choice to offload him in the summer.
However, Gabriel Jesus was not a successful long-term replacement for Sergio Aguero, according to the man. “I recall interviewing him when he first arrived. There was a lot of hype and expectation about him, but it didn’t pan out.”
“He was helpless to remove Aguero from the squad, and Guardiola eventually sold him. Guardiola doesn’t appear to be selling top footballers. He rarely makes mistakes. Zinchenko’s transfer to Arsenal may have been unwise, according to some. I’m not sure if that was actually.”
“He transferred Sterling to Chelsea. That did not turn out to be an error. Jesus just might not be that person, in my opinion. His statistics might not be nearly good enough. We shall nevertheless see.”
Jesus arrived in the Emirates at the beginning of last season in a £45 million deal from City, and he made an impression in the first part of the season before getting hurt while playing for Brazil at the World Cup, which kept him out until March.
For the Gunners, he scored 11 goals in 26 appearances, but through three games this season, he has only scored once.
