Former Arsenal star Bacary Sagna believes his former teammate Gabriel Jesus is the ideal man to lead the Gunners’ attack this season.
The pair previously played together at Manchester City, before Sagna left the club to sign a short-term deal with Benevento in Serie A.
Jesus signed for the Gunners this summer after failing to nail down a regular place in City’s starting XI and has made an immediate impact.
The 25-year-old has bagged three goals and three assists in six appearances to fire Arsenal to the top of the standings.
His efforts have moved the London club to third favourites behind Man City and Liverpool in the latest Premier League betting market for the title.
Sagna says Jesus has given Arsenal the cutting edge they needed following the departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.
“Gabby is perfect for Arsenal,” he said. “He is very clever on the pitch, he knows where to press, he is always there to put pressure on you.
“As a defender, he is annoying to play against because he has skills, he is powerful and in front of goal he is clinical.
“I think he is the kind of player who needs to play regularly to perform. It was a bit difficult for him at Man City not being able to produce what he could every single weekend. I was also like that. I needed to be playing regularly to be perfect physically and mentally.
“He is a natural fit at Arsenal because it is a team that uses young players and has the right mentality for him. It’s a nice environment.”
While Jesus is the man tasked with leading the goalscoring charts for Arsenal, the club have made several other impressive signings since Mikel Arteta took over as manager.
They include Aaron Ramsdale, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel, Ben White and Martin Odegaard – all of whom have improved the first team squad.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira were amongst the players who were signed alongside Jesus this summer, further strengthening Arsenal’s options.
Arteta has shifted plenty of deadwood out of the club, sparking talk that they are ready to force their way back into the top four in the Premier League.
The Gunners have failed to finish any higher than fifth position over the past six seasons, leading to plenty of discontent amongst the fans.
However, Arteta undoubtedly has the club heading in the right direction and Sagna believes he has rebuilt what had become a shattered relationship with the fans.
“The additions to the club are excellent – Jesus is ideal for this team and exactly the type of player they should be looking for,” he added.
“What’s great to see is that the connection with the fans is back. You can clearly see that the fans are really happy and supportive. It’s nice to see some stability.
“When I was at Arsenal, I felt there were times it could be difficult to play at our absolute best when there was negative attention on the club.”
