Shearer calls out Arsenal star for "consistently underperforming" for Arteta

18 October 2023 , 08:30

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Shearer calls out Arsenal star for "consistently underperforming" for Arteta

Alan Shearer has taken aim at Gabriel Jesus for "consistently underperforming" at Arsenal with his goal return way off what's expected.

The forward made the switch last summer from Manchester City, where he was effective but by no means prolific. And whilst he's dealt with injury problems, he's struggled to produce in front of goal for a Gunners outfit that have their sights on the Premier League title.

Jesus' best season whilst in Manchester saw him notch on 23 occasions in all competitions, last term he scored 11 times for Arsenal despite spending long periods on the sidelines. Shearer maintains that the Brazilian is not scoring with the regularity you'd expect.

He told The Athletic : "Without wishing to pick on him, he has consistently been underperforming his xG over the past few years." Jesus has scored three times this term, although only one of those has come in the league, when the north Londoners saw off Manchester United 3-1.

Shearer has referenced a huge miss in the north London derby to illustrate how the Brazilian has failed to fire sufficiently in the final third. Tottenham left the Emirates with a point last month, twice coming from behind, but in the first-half Jesus missed the chance to put Arsenal 2-0 up.

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He dispossessed James Maddison, who had come short to receive the ball, leaving him with a free shot at goal in the box, but he went for power and blazed his effort into the crowd, which would prove costly.

Gabriel Jesus missed a golden chance in the north London derby (Sky Sports)

When analysing the incident Shearer said: "[That] tells you he’s getting into good positions and isn’t finishing them. Exhibit A right here [in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham]. Jesus does really well to anticipate the pass and nabs the ball from James Maddison’s toes. It leaves him in an ideal position in the middle of the goal, with space around him and the choice of aiming either side.

"He goes with the option of hitting his shot with the front of his foot, which is fine; it’s something I used to do a lot of the time. He also goes for power and there’s nothing wrong with that either because power shouldn’t take away from your accuracy. I always felt that if I picked my spot and got my shot away, then the harder I hit it, the harder it would be for the ’keeper to stop it.

"A load of my goals were struck firmly and weren’t more difficult to control. But this is another example of leaning back for a shot; Jesus’ body and technique are all wrong."

Samuel Meade