Gabriel Jesus of Arsenal offered an honest evaluation of his dismal goal scoring record with Brazil, which was furthered in the team’s defeat by Argentina on Tuesday.
According to Goal.com, the Gunners forward made his debut as Brazil hosted Argentina in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match, marking his first game since sustaining a hamstring injury during Arsenal’s Champions League match at Sevilla last month. Jesus, however, failed to find the back of the net despite playing the entire ninety minutes at the Maracana stadium. This continues a terrible streak in which he has only scored once, in a friendly match against South Korea in June 2022, following his goal in July 2019 during Brazil’s 3-1 victory in the Copa America final.
But when Terra questioned Jesus about his dismal performance on the international scene, Jesus gave an air of indifference, saying, “There are things that bothered me a lot in the post 2018 World Cup cycle. I was younger, I had a different mind. Today I am a more mature man, more educated, a family man. I understand football is a priority for me, and I know I need to be well to do my best, especially in the Brazilian team. There are things that I don’t control. I train, I look for, I try, I move, I help the team. The goal is inevitable. I believe it’s not my strong point, but I score goals and I’m there to score goal. When I come back, it will happen. It’s work. I work quietly, I’m not one to respond to criticism, I’m not one to be happy for praise. I was, I won’t be anymore.”
Tuesday night was disappointing for Brazil collectively as well as for Jesus personally. Just past the hour mark, a goal from Nicolas Otamendi caused Fernando Diniz’s team to lose their third straight game and their first-ever World Cup qualifying on home soil. Due to injuries to Neymar, Vinicius Junior, and Richarlison, Jesus is the only player left for the Selecao’s forward position. However, Jesus hasn’t shown that he can lead the team to goals on the international scene yet.
Luckily for the Arsenal forward, club football resumes this weekend. Mikel Arteta will have the chance to use the Brazilian again when his team travels to Brentford on Saturday in an effort to build on their most recent victory over Burnley.
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