Premier League English

‘Defenders kick you so I kick them back’ – Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus will not be bullied by Premier League defences next season

Less than 90 minutes were all that was needed for the familiar accusations to resurface – ‘Arsenal are soft… they can be bullied’ and so on and so forth.

‘New season, same old story,’ was Jamie Carragher’s rejoinder during their defeat by Brentford on the opening day of the 2021-22 campaign.

Fast-forward a year and it took only all of 90 seconds for Gabriel Jesus in the Gunners’ US tour to suggest he will help them turn the dial to a bolder, more brazen era.

It was the forward’s first start – following a £45million move from Manchester City – and the opening confrontation of Arsenal’s friendly against Everton. Jesus tangled with former teammate Yerry Mina inside the area and then, when the defender looked to protect the ball, the Brazilian bulldozed him to the floor in a totally unexpected move unbecoming of the striker.

It didn’t matter that Mina towers eight inches over Jesus. Nor did it matter also that this was supposed to be The Charm City Match.

‘Sometimes the defenders kick you so much, your reaction is to kick as well,’ said Jesus.

‘Always in my life I try to be calm, to concentrate on the game, because anything can happen.’ But? ‘At the end, it’s sometimes something I have to do as well.

‘Sometimes they’ve almost broken my leg and the referee said no and was laughing in my face. Sometimes the referee has to protect the attackers.’ Unfortunately, help isn’t always forthcoming. ‘So sometimes we protect ourselves.’

Against Everton, the 25-year-old did more — he scored one goal and created the other as Arsenal kickstarted a tour that ends against Chelsea on Saturday night.

‘I’ve played with Mina before in Palmeiras and we were so close together, and after — I don’t know why — he started to touch me, to pinch me on my chest and then talking s***,’ added Jesus.

‘I’m not a kid any more and I went straight to him as well.’

The Brazilian’s words will most certainly be well received in north London, as well as with manager Mikel Arteta, who has conceded that Arsenal could do with more tough and hardy street smarts.

Which would help to explain why he wanted Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, the latter another summer signing from former club City whom Arteta feels will add more ‘edge’ to his squad.

That aside, the main glitter is their undoubted quality. Already the tenacity, sharpness and invention of Jesus seems to have elevated Arsenal’s attack a gear as even at this early juncture, his goal tally stands at three in as many pre-season games.

‘I don’t want to be the main man here, I don’t want to be a superstar,’ Jesus insisted this week. That might prove difficult judging by the distinctive quality he has brought to the team.

Of course, one way to share the limelight would be to share the burden, like he did with fellow forward Eddie Nketiah against both Nurnberg and Orlando City, and Arteta is keen to nurture their partnership.

‘It was so good to play with him,’ said Jesus. ‘Eddie has a lot of quality — he holds the ball, he’s stronger, he turns. He’s very good and he’s still young. I am too.’

Only 25, and yet already an elder statesman at Arsenal. For others in Arteta’s young squad, Jesus could be a vital source of advice.

‘I’m not like this where because I’ve lived something that the youngers haven’t lived yet, I want to talk,’ he said. ‘I just show in the training session by working hard and that’s it. If they want to come to talk with me, they can.’

Chelsea supposedly tried to hijack Arsenal’s deal for the Brazilian. In the end, though, the forward opted for Europa League football. Why?

‘When we started to talk about the transfer, it was with Edu and I knew then that Mikel wanted me,’ explained Jesus. ‘They showed me the project and then they showed me some stuff about my statistics and I was so surprised.’

Arteta has proven a valuable bargaining chip in negotiations with potential signings. ‘I’ve worked with him at City so I know him a bit,’ said Jesus. ‘He helped me a lot to improve my finishing after training sessions.’

Now, Jesus is targeting more trophies with his new side. They might not come easily but already the Brazilian has shown he is up for the scrap