By ISAAN KHAN, REPORTER
Published: 07:00 EST, 11 December 2025 | Updated: 07:00 EST, 11 December 2025
An emotional Gabriel Jesus says he questioned 'Why me?' during his 332 days on the sidelines with a serious knee injury before an emphatic return inArsenal's 3-0 win over Club Bruges on Wednesday night.
The Brazilian, coming off the bench on 62 minutes, showed glimpses of his best as he struck the bar and had more touches than Viktor Gyokeres, who led the line from the off for the Gunners.
It’s been a painful year for Jesus after he was carried off on a stretcher during Arsenal’s FA Cup third-round penalty shoutout defeat to Manchester United in January before undergoing surgery on his torn ACL.
At the time of the injury, the former Man City forward was on a run of five goals in two games.
Jesus explained: ‘So my first thoughts were like, “Why?” You always keep questioning why, the reason why. It wasn’t an easy season for me last season, and then at the moment I stepped in and started to play, started to score goals and play good, this happens (the knee injury).
‘So the first question was, “Why?”. Every single day, the first two or three weeks, I asked why it happened to me now. And then after I could understand that I needed to be more close to Jesus, to God, to read the Bible.
Gabriel Jesus has opened up on the mental toll that receiving a serious injury has taken on him
The Arsenal striker injured his knee in an FA Cup clash with Manchester United last January
‘It helped me so much, you know, because it kept me believing that I’m a son of God, and then I could do everything if I felt God’s plans. So yeah, because of God I could stay 11 months, believing that I could come back good. To move the way I moved tonight showed to myself that God protects me all the time.’
It was not the forward’s first serious knee injury at the club. He also underwent knee surgery in December 2022, an injury that ruled him out of Brazil's World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Despite a spate of serious injuries recently, Jesus, 28, maintains belief that his best is yet to come.
‘One hundred per cent (my best is to come),' he added. 'Tonight for me, it doesn't matter about the chances I had. I got in good positions, I could finish the actions and hit the target. The three chances I had, I hit the target.
‘Obviously I had to score. But just to come back after 11 months and move the way I moved tonight, I'm so pleased.
‘Eleven months. 11 months of doubting yourself. I keep saying this because it’s true, it’s what I believe: what helped me a lot is… if I didn’t hear the Bible every single day, I am 100 per cent sure I would not have believed I could come back stronger than ever. Now I believe even more, because I’m a son of God.’