Gabriel Jesus preferred position as revealed by Brazil’s national team manager
Brazil national team manager Fernando Diniz has made clear his wish for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to play Gabriel Jesus in the No. 9 position on a regular basis. Jesus, who has been brought to the Emirates Stadium as a striker focal point, has found himself playing on the wing in his last three Arsenal matches owing to injuries to important offensive players such as Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, and Bukayo Saka.
In a recent interview during international break, “At Palmeiras, I did it a lot [played at striker],” Jesus told reporters. “I think it was the club I did it at the most, when I started playing more centrally.
“I played as a centre-forward, very loose and doing the ‘facão’. That’s where I did it the most.
“The first thing Diniz said when I came in for the other call-up was that he wanted to see Gabriel from Palmeiras, from City,” Jesus added
Despite his versatility and ability to play in numerous spots of the attack, Jesus has already shown his prowess as a striker this season, netting three goals in nine matches across all competitions. Diniz’s suggestion that Arteta uses Jesus as a centre striker gives light on the player’s preferred position and the impact it could have on Arsenal’s attacking strategy.
With Martinelli and Saka on their way back, Arteta is probably thinking about moving Jesus back to striker, allowing him to make the most of the Brazilian forward’s goal-scoring capacity. It remains to be seen how Arteta’s tactics and the positioning of Gabriel Jesus in the Arsenal team will be influenced by this request from the Brazil national team manager in the future.
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