Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hailed the desire of striker Gabriel Jesus after he overcame a pre-match injury concern to score and set up another in his side’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Brazillian striker opened the scoring with a fine second-half finish before picking out Bukayo Saka to double his side’s lead and hand the Gunners an important victory at the City ground.
Jesus has struggled with injury this season and his opener against Forest was just his fourth Premier League goal of the season, but Arteta was full of praise for the 26-year-old’s determination to play.
“We really need him at his best,” he told TNT Sports.
“I had a great feeling before the game, I told him, because he had some fluid in the knee and he was struggling and he was telling every physio two days ago saying ‘I want to be on that pitch’.
“When someone has that attitude, that desire, in this moment, something good is going to happen.
“I think we had a really strong performance. We were really dominant, we had to be very patient but at the same time we needed to keep having the intention to hurt them all the time and not start to be complacent.
“I think we’ve done that again. I think we suffered much more than what we deserve but this is the Premier League.
“We created quite a lot of chances but we didn’t convert them.
“Against this team at home, I’ve seen a lot of teams, we were one of them last year, that suffered and I’m really pleased with the performance.”
Embed from Getty ImagesJesus also thanked the Arsenal fans for their support, saying: “It’s all about trust. I arrived at the club with the desire to improve and to help them and I think I’m doing good.
“Unfortunately I have been, sometimes, injured, which I don’t want. No player wants this.
“I’m working hard, I’m really happy to be on the pitch because I think I can help more on the pitch than outside (of it).
“And also, the support of my team-mates is good. Today, unfortunately, I was a little bit unlucky with one chance, another one I create, and then after I scored so I’m happy.
“Obviously they keep supporting me so that’s good for the players.”
