After their spirited victory over Sevilla, Gabriel Jesus has urged his teammates at Arsenal to have faith that they can win the Champions League.
The 26-year-old helped Arsenal win 2-1 at Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Tuesday by setting up Gabriel Martinelli’s first goal just before halftime. He then scored a stunning goal himself in the 53rd minute.
A loss would have put Mikel Arteta’s team on the edge, but instead they are now top of Group B, with two home games against Lens and Sevilla coming up next month.
Jesus, a Brazilian striker who spent five years with Manchester City and helped them reach the 2021 Champions League final, insisted that Arsenal, who have never won the biggest prize in European club football, should be aiming for victory at Wembley in June. His record in the competition now stands at 23 goals from 41 appearances.
“It’s a competition that I love, like the Premier League,” he said. “All the competitions I love, because I just love to play football. But since day one in the Champions League, my debut, I scored goals.
“I haven’t won it yet, so I am looking for this, for this beautiful trophy. Obviously it is not easy, but I think we have to believe. If we don’t believe, we cannot be here.”
Jesus left the field nine minutes from time after suffering a hamstring issue which Arteta admitted afterwards had left him “worried.”
However, Jesus played down the severity of the injury, adding: “Let’s see. I did some tests with the physio, it looks not that big [a problem], but let’s see. I have a scan. I’m pretty sure it will be nothing.”