Mikel Arteta has warned Arsenal need to manage Gabriel Jesus’ workload after the Brazilian scored twice on his competitive home debut.
The forward has enjoyed a brilliant start to life in north London following a £45m move from Manchester City earlier this summer, with expectations high in north London.
While Arteta has a number of options in a varied attacking line, Jesus is expected to operate through the middle, establishing himself as far more of a key player than in his final few seasons at City.
Although selected for a number of big games, the depth of Pep Guardiola’s squad naturally led to more rotation at the Etihad Stadium.
In fact, Jesus started only 42 times across the last two Premier League campaigns while at City. Barring injury, it seems reasonable to assume the 25-year-old will far surpass that this season, with Europa League football also on the agenda.
Speaking after the striker’s brace, Arteta said: “I think he’s played 18 starts in the last two seasons and we are going to demand him to start a lot of games, so we have to manage that load and the way that we train is different.
“We have to be on top of that and hopefully we are.”
