Thierry Henry has praised Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka by stating that the Arsenal trio are ‘contagious’ and they can do ‘wonders’, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (25/10/22 at 7:20 pm).
The Arsenal legend acknowledged that Jesus is someone who won’t hit the big numbers for the club, in terms of goals, but he still admires what he brings to the table.
In the summer, Mikel Arteta reunited with the 25-year-old after he enjoyed a number of trophy-laden years in Manchester City colours.
The hope was that Jesus would bring that winning mentality to Arsenal and there was a lot of noise and hype around his transfer in the summer.
During those early months, including in pre-season, Jesus has delivered, and whilst he hasn’t scored in five games in all competitions, the versatile forward is still being his usual self off the ball.
Nonetheless, it just wasn’t Jesus who Henry bigged up, but also the wide men who, in his words, ‘can do wonders’.
‘Jesus is a guy who can put more pressure,” said Henry. “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.”
FORWARD LINE EVER-PROGRESSING
The oldest of Arsenal’s ever-progressing forward line is Jesus at 25 and that shows that they have a lot more to produce in their locker in years to come.
At this moment in time, it has been quite a stunning start because, not many would have had the north London side sitting at the top of the table after their 11 matches and having dropped points in only two matches.
It will be interesting if Arteta elevates and helps his forward line in the January transfer window by bringing in depth or someone who can dethrone either trio in case of an injury or form dropping.
It is needed, especially given that a lack of quality deep into Arsenal’s squad cost them a place in the Champions League last season.