Mikel Arteta believes that Gabriel Jesus ending his nine month goal drought can “unlock” the Brazilian in front of goal.
The Brazilian opened the scoring in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Preston in the Carabao Cup, which ended a run of 25 appearances without finding the net.
Since he scored and assisted against Nottingham Forest in January, the 27-year-old has found his game time limited to 881 minutes in all competitions due to a combination of injuries and Kai Havertz’s switch to centre-forward.
Jesus has only started one league game this season but Arteta hopes his volley at Deepdale to help send Arsenal into the quarter-finals can be a turning point.
“I’m very happy, I think it’s going to unlock that for him,” said Arteta. “He looked really happy. He’s performing with the right attitude as always but he needed that feeling that he can put the ball in the back of the net.”
Arsenal will face Crystal Palace at home in the next round as they seek to win a competition that has eluded the since 1993.
Arteta’s side are next in action on Saturday with a Premier League trip to Newcastle United.
(Top image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
