Gary Neville Believes Gabriel Jesus Needs Improvement to Reach His Full Potential

Former Manchester United player Gary Neville has compared Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus to Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez but believes the Brazilian forward needs to improve his game. Neville expressed his admiration for Jesus but pointed out that he lacks the instinct in front of goal and tends to be in areas where he is not needed. He also highlighted the lack of chemistry between Jesus, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli in Arsenal’s front three.

Jesus’ Performance So Far

Jesus has scored only three goals and provided one assist in 13 Premier League games for Arsenal this season. Despite his potential, Neville believes there is room for improvement in Jesus’ performance.

Neville’s Critique

Speaking after Arsenal’s draw against Liverpool, Neville expressed his concerns about Jesus’ positioning and lack of goal-scoring instinct. He also noted the absence of effective link-up play between Jesus, Saka, and Martinelli.

Neville said on his podcast, “I don’t see Jesus, Martinelli, and Saka linking up. When Saka tries to cross to the back post, he is smashing it across. I don’t see Martinelli charging in at the back post. There’s quite a lot to work on.”

He further added, “I’ve found myself questioning whether Jesus and Nketiah are the top strikers for a Premier League title-winning side or if they are actually second and third-choice strikers.”

Jesus’ Potential

Despite his critique, Neville expressed his admiration for Jesus as a player. He compared him to Rooney and Tevez, highlighting his qualities. However, Neville believes that Jesus needs to develop his goal-scoring instinct and improve his positioning on the field.

“I love Jesus. I really love him, honestly. He’s got a bit of Wayne Rooney in him, a bit of Carlos Tevez in him,” Neville said.

The Importance of Chemistry

Neville emphasized the importance of effective collaboration between the front three players. He believes that the lack of combination play between Jesus, Saka, and Martinelli could be detrimental to Arsenal’s success in the long run.

“These three [at Arsenal], not even just in goals, they don’t combine a lot together within games to play. I feel that will cost them at some point,” Neville warned.

While Neville acknowledges Gabriel Jesus’ potential and compares him to legendary players, he believes that the Arsenal forward needs to work on his goal-scoring instinct and improve his collaboration with his teammates to reach his full potential.

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