On a scorching afternoon in North London, Gabriel Jesus sizzled with a performance which left Arsenal fans salivating about the season ahead.
The Brazilian scored twice — one a delicious, curling effort that, yes, got the slightest of deflections off Jonny Evans but would probably have beaten Leicester keeper Danny Ward anyway and the other a proper fox-in-the-box header at the back post.
But it wasn’t just his finishing which delighted the Arsenal faithful, it was the way he caused Leicester’s languid backline problems throughout and brought others into play, setting up Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli for their goals as well.
The display epitomised why Mikel Arteta signed him and, while he will face much tougher opponents than Leicester, if the Gunners boss can keep his marquee signing around this level he will prove a stunning piece of business. Keeping him at that level will be the test, though.
And Arteta said: “That’s why we took him off. He has played 18 starts in the last two seasons and we’re going to demand him to start a lot of games so we have to manage that load. The way we train is different and we have to be on top of that. But we know what Gabi can do. He scored two and got two assists and is still disappointed because he thinks he should have scored four. That’s the standard, that’s the mentality, you need to go to a different level.”
Jesus is also lifting those around him, and Arteta added: “His presence lifts the standards, the way he is every day, the way he’s talking to them, the way they are connecting. It’s very natural but it’s pretty impressive to do it that quickly.” Leicester boss Rodgers added: “Anyone can see with Jesus that when you bring in a world-class player, it’s not just what he brings to the team. It’s what a new signing gives to everyone else in terms of confidence.
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“Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jesus are coming out of a winning environment where they look after themselves, train every day like dogs to be the best they can. That spills on to the rest of the team. And William Saliba has come in and welded very well. Those three starters have made a big difference.”
James Maddison aside, Leicester were off it. Arsenal target Youri Tielemans was anonymous and, as he left the field, hooked by Rodgers, it was to a chorus of ‘You want to join the Arsenal’ from home fans. He wasn’t alone, though, and no wonder Rodgers was frustrated they twice gave themselves a chance of getting back into the game but both times let Arsenal restore their two-goal lead within two minutes.
Rodgers said: “In key moments, we made mistakes. At 2-1, we were in a good place and at 3-2 with 15 minutes to go. It was disappointing.” Jesus’s first was a quality finish, moving the ball quickly out of his feet before lifting it over Ward, and his second a solid header.
Saliba gave Leicester hope when he nodded a James Justin header which was aimed for Jamie Vardy past his own keeper Aaron Ramsdale. Although Danny Ward’s gaffe a minute later gifted the ball to Jesus, who prodded to Xhaka, and he turned it home. Maddison exchanged passes with Kelechi Iheanacho before drilling his effort between Ramsdale’s legs from a tight angle but Jesus teed up Martinelli to kill the game with a low drive straight after.
