Gabriel Jesus seemingly found form for Arsenal with a three-goal performance against Crystal Palace in a 3-2 win in the Carabao Cup.
Well, that's one way to get yourself in form.
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, who struggled mightily in front goal for the best part of 18 months, hammered three home in a vintage "Jesus" performance at the Emirates as the Gunners booked their passage to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The Brazilian's first was a thing of beauty. Delightfully found by Martin Odegaard, who changed the game with his half-time introduction, Jesus then held off his defender before a delicious dink over the on-rushing Dean Henderson to bring the Gunners level.
His second had a bit of luck as he looked to be offside, but Jesus was clinical from a tight angle, and his third was another well-taken finish after driving into the Palace box to complete the hat-trick.
And to say the Brazilian was pleased with his performance is an understatement.
“It feels amazing,” Jesus said via arsenal.com. “Obviously the first half wasn’t our best, but still in the second half we did our job, we created more, we kept the ball more, circulated the ball, made passes and then Martin put in two amazing balls in the end and B as well, and I could finish the action.”
Gabriel Jesus, Myles Lewis-Skelly
Arsenal v Crystal Palace - Carabao Cup Quarter Final | Alex Pantling/GettyImages
Is this the performance that can be the fire-starter for Jesus to return to his blistering form that we had come to know? We sure hope so.
Prior to the Palace clash, Jesus had just one goal in his last 20 appearances in all competitions, ironically enough, which came in the Carabao Cup against Preston.
Now, with another three goals bagged, the hope is that this can be the tonic for Jesus to find his confidence in front of goal. In what was a stark contrast to the first half, as soon as the Brazilian scored his first goal, it looked like the mental handbrake had been lifted and a new player emerged.
Given Arsenal's position in the league, Mikel Arteta will need a lot to go right if his team is to reel in Arne Slot's side, and Jesus hitting form might be the ace in the Spaniard's deck.
Granted, it is only one game, but the manner in which Jesus finished his chances with authority, his movement, and everything in between was a big boost to his confidence.
Now comes the hard part...doing it again.
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