Gabriel Jesus has told his new Arsenal teammates he's "feeling good" amid concerns about his fitness, with manager Mikel Arteta also providing good news about Kieran Tierney.
Jesus made his non-competitive Arsenal debut in the 5-3 victory against Nurnburg in Germany on Friday. The Brazilian, who was recently signed from Manchester City, came off the bench at half-time to find the back of the net twice and force two defenders into own-goals.
There were some concerns about Jesus' fitness after he didn't start the game, yet he put any lingering doubts to bed in his post-match interview. The four-time Premier League winner revealed his baby, born at the end of May, is the reason why he's a bit tired.
"I’m feeling good," Jesus told Arsenal's website. "Sometimes it’s hard because I had more than 20 days without running, without doing anything, just trying to get some sleep with my new baby and my girlfriend!"
Tierney, meanwhile, came off against Nurnberg shortly after the 30th-minute mark. The Scotland international hasn't played a competitive club game since suffering a knee injury in March and looked off the pace against the German outfit as Arsenal went 2-0 down.
"He’s really good," Arteta told Arsenal's website of Tierney. "He’s been training really good. Obviously he’s been out for over three months now so we wanted to give him a proper warm-up, play the first half an hour and then get him out. So he was in good condition and there's no issues there."
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Goals from Johannes Geis and Kwadwo Duah established a two-goal lead for Nurnberg at half-time before Jesus inspired the Gunners to a brilliant comeback. The pick of the goals was a 30-yard screamer from Mohamed Elneny, which levelled the game.
"Today was a difficult first half," added Jesus. "We have to understand a little bit because we had young players, and they are a strong team. They played long ball, so it was difficult for us. But at the end we came back, and because everyone is together like a team, we did it."
Jesus also opened up on his first few days at the Emirates. "I’m proud to be here at this big club," he said. "I’ve completed four or five days together with the lads, and I just want to say thank you to everyone at Arsenal because they make me feel at home.
"Everyone is talking, coming to me and saying ‘good luck, we are happy to have you here’, and I’m happy to be here as well. That makes me feel at home."
Arsenal have four more friendlies to fulfil before the new Premier League season gets underway against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on August 5. They will fly to the US shortly to face Everton, Orlando City and Chelsea before taking on Sevilla at the Emirates.
"I’ve just come to be part of this amazing club, amazing team, and then to win together," continued Jesus. "I believe a lot in the project at this club. I can’t wait to play, at our amazing stadium."
