Thierry Henry has warned Arsenal that he does not believe Gabriel Jesus is capable of bagging 30 goals a season in the wake of the Brazilian's five-match goal drought.
The Gunners won plenty of plaudits after sealing an astute £45million deal for Jesus in the summer and the 25-year-old made an electric start to his Arsenal career, clocking up five goals and three assists in just eight games.
However, the goals have dried up for Jesus in recent weeks and he spurned a couple of golden chances in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Southampton as the Gunners dropped points in the Premier League for just the second time this season.
Although Jesus was an important member of the Manchester City side for a number of years under Pep Guardiola, he was not renowned for being prolific prior to his Arsenal switch.
His best tally of Premier League goals stands at 14 - and Henry, the Gunners' all-time leading goalscorer, has admitted that while Jesus brings "contagious" qualities to Arteta's team, he is unlikely to emerge as the 25-30 goal striker all clubs crave.
Henry told CBS on Wednesday night: "Jesus is a guy who can put more pressure; is he going to be a guy that’s going to score 25-30 goals? No. But what he does is contagious. Then you have the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, who can do wonders."
Henry isn't the first Premier League icon to question Jesus' credentials in front of goal after former Chelsea goal machine Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink echoed similar sentiments earlier in the season.
Join the debate! Arsenal fans: Do you agree with Henry's verdict on Jesus? Let us know here.
Speaking to Sky Sports at the start of September, the Dutchman mused: "He’s [Jesus] come in [and scored] three goals, made chances, made others around him play better. I’m still not convinced he will be 20 goals a season because if he was that then why did he not do that at Man City in a better team? I think he had enough opportunities [at Man City]. He is not somebody that scores goals out and out and out.
"He’s somebody that loves scoring goals and likes to link up, he’s been brilliant at it, very strong, holding the ball up. He’s got three goals in five matches – which is brilliant – but you expect him to score more goals. He’s a great signing."
Meanwhile, Jesus himself has remained defiant in the wake of his barren run - and the Brazilian striker even vowed to return to form with a goal against PSV Eindhoven on Thursday night.
He added: "It’s happened before and I’m sure it will happen again. That’s football. I don’t want it to be like this. I want to improve. Next game I will try again and 100% I will score."
