Neymar, Vinicius and Marquinhos welcome back Gabriel Jesus after his return from injury
The Brazilian forward received a number of messages from teammates as he made his return to the side on Sunday.
Arsenal reiterated their title credentials on Sunday afternoon with a comfortable win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
The Gunners restored their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League and Gabriel Jesus’ return from injury will bolster Mikel Arteta’s striking options as we head towards the run-in.
Jesus, who helped spark an unexpected assult on the title as the focal point of the Arsenal attack, has been unavailable since injuring his knee for Brazil at the World Cup. After making his return to the side on Sunday as a 77th-minute substitute, Jesus’ Brazilian teammates gave their love on Instagram.
Marquinhos, Neymar and Vinicius welcome Jesus back
Arsenal’s number nine looked sharp in his first appearance of 2023 and nearly made it 4-0 to the visitors late on. After the game he posted photos of his return on Instagram, alongside the caption: “So happy to be back. And feels like I never left... What a win from this group! Let’s go, gunners!”
The post received more than 300,000 likes within a day and drew comments from a number of Jesus’ club and international teammates.
Writing in Portuguese, Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian captain Marquinhos wrote: “So happy to see you back.”
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior added that he was “happy as hell” to see his international teammate back on the pitch.
Fellow Brazilians Neymar and Rodrygo also showed their love for 25-year-old’s recovery, dropping a ‘love heart’ emoji on their compatriot’s post.
Jesus’s Arsenal teammate Granit Xhaka replied “Welcome back bro,” while the forward’s sponsor, Adidas, wrote “good to see you back on the pitch.”
Arteta grateful to have Jesus back in contention
The Gunners have coped remarkably well with Jesus’ absence over the past three months with Eddie Nketiah and, more recently, new signing Leandro Trossard performing admirably up front. However Arteta is well aware that Jesus’ quality and title-winning experience gives the side a boost as they go in search of Arsenal’s first championship since 2004.
“It’s a big boost, the first step today,” Arteta said after the win over Fulham.
“Gabi said to me a few days ago: ‘I’m still missing something.’ Yesterday I looked in his eyes and he said: ‘I’m ready’. He looks free, he looks ready. To see him there with a smile on his face was a joy. I was really happy for him.”
“Gabi has to earn his place like in any other team,” Arteta added. “We have alternatives … in relation to the chemistry of players and what we ask them to do. It’s a great problem to have, believe me.”