Alan Shearer names Arsenal star who he feels is ‘consistently underperforming’

Legendary striker Alan Shearer has named the Arsenal star who he feels is ‘consistently underperforming’ since he joined the club last year.

The Gunners have made a strong start start to the 2023-24 campaign and are unbeaten from their opening eight Premier League games, winning six of them.

But despite Arsenal’s impressive form, legendary Premier League striker Shearer admits has been disappointed with Gunners forward Gabriel Jesus.

Gabriel Jesus’ Poor Performance

Jesus, who moved to the Emirates in the summer of 2022 for £45m, has registered just three goals across nine appearances this season.

Arsenal have scored the least goals of any club inside the current top six in the top-flight table, which has seen the north Londoners linked with Ivan Toney.

‘Without wishing to pick on him, he has consistently been underperforming his xG over the past few years,’ Shearer told The Athletic about Arsenal star Jesus, using an example from the 2-2 draw against Spurs on September 24 to make his point.

Missed Opportunity Against Spurs

‘[That] tells you he’s getting into good positions and isn’t finishing them. Exhibit A right here [in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham].

‘Jesus does really well to anticipate the pass and nabs the ball from James Maddison’s toes.

‘It leaves him in an ideal position in the middle of the goal, with space around him and the choice of aiming either side.’

‘He goes with the option of hitting his shot with the front of his foot, which is fine; it’s something I used to do a lot of the time.

‘He also goes for power and there’s nothing wrong with that either because power shouldn’t take away from your accuracy.

‘I always felt that if I picked my spot and got my shot away, then the harder I hit it, the harder it would be for the ’keeper to stop it.

‘A load of my goals were struck firmly and weren’t more difficult to control. But this is another example of leaning back for a shot; Jesus’ body and technique are all wrong.’

Arsenal’s Future

Arsenal beat title rivals Manchester City last time out and are only second in the table to north London rivals Tottenham, who have superior goal difference.

Shearer’s comments on Jesus’ performance come at an important time for Arsenal as they look to continue their impressive start to the season and challenge for silverware. With Jesus’ lack of goals, it may be necessary for Arsenal to look for other options in attack if they want to compete at the highest level.

The Gunners have been linked with Ivan Toney in recent weeks as they look to bolster their attacking options. Whether or not they make a move for Toney remains to be seen, but it is clear that Jesus needs to improve his performance if he wants to remain a key part of Arsenal’s attack.

Conclusion

Alan Shearer has named Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus as one of the players who he feels is ‘consistently underperforming’ since he joined the club last year. Despite Arsenal’s impressive form this season, Jesus has registered just three goals across nine appearances and Shearer has used an example from the 2-2 draw against Spurs on September 24 to highlight his poor technique.

With Jesus’ lack of goals, it may be necessary for Arsenal to look for other options in attack if they want to compete at the highest level. The Gunners have been linked with Ivan Toney in recent weeks as they look to bolster their attacking options and it is clear that Jesus needs to improve his performance if he wants to remain a key part of Arsenal’s attack.