‘I love him to bits’: Pundit says Arsenal just cannot rely on ‘fantastic’ 26-year-old

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Ben Foster has said that he absolutely loves Gabriel Jesus, but you cannot rely on the Arsenal player to stay fit as he discussed the Gunners’ striker options.

Foster was speaking on his YouTube channel after Arsenal opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates on Saturday.

It was Eddie Nketiah who started the clash. And he vindicated that selection by opening the scoring after Gabriel Martinelli’s moment of brilliance to create the opportunity.

Nketiah got the chance with Gabriel Jesus currently sidelined with injury. Unfortunately, it is not the first time the Brazilian has been out. He missed several months after sustaining an injury at the World Cup last season.

Foster thinks Arsenal cannot rely on Gabriel Jesus

On the pitch, the 26-year-old is absolutely outstanding. And his arrival was a real game-changer for Mikel Arteta’s side. However, Foster believes that Arsenal would be wise to look for another striker due to the problems Jesus has had since joining the club last year.

“Even Gabi Jesus, and I love him to bits, I think he’s a fantastic footballer, but the reason why he was at Man City but didn’t play so often is because he’s not prolific,” he told his YouTube channel.

“And he gets injured as well so you can’t rely on him to be there all the time.”

Jesus definitely has a point to prove when he returns from injury. It appeared to be a real coup for Arsenal to sign him from Manchester City ahead of last season.

But the Gunners have made absolutely rapid progress over the last 12 months. They are no longer looking to be in the conversation to make the top four. Qualifying for the Champions League is now the absolute minimum again.

Arsenal are now title challengers. So theoretically, there may come a time when the Gunners have to have the kind of conversation Manchester City had when they decided to not use him as their first-choice forward.

Admittedly, there are not too many world-class strikers around right now. So replacing him would not be easy if Arsenal do feel that they need more.

But Mikel Arteta has proved time and time again that he is prepared to be ruthless. So perhaps Jesus needs to hit the ground running when he does return.