All eyes will be on how Arsenal react in Munich on Wednesday night after they slipped up in the Premier League title race.
A lot was made of Mikel Arteta’s team selection before the 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa, with Jorginho not starting and Gabriel Jesus playing as a striker instead of Kai Havertz.
Before a ball was kicked, many felt that was a change the Arsenal manager shouldn’t have made, as the team, especially in the second half, failed to show up and got outdone by Unai Emery.
It now puts even more pressure on the team as they aim to beat Bayern Munich in the second leg of their Champions League tie and book an unlikely semi-final birth.
Whilst Bayern have Harry Kane to call upon, you just question the makeup of Arsenal’s attack.
Given Gabriel Jesus’ performance at the weekend, surely he can’t start because it just won’t fill the fans with confidence.
The Brazil international is better off as a substitute because his second season as an Arsenal player isn’t going as planned.
Following his £45 million transfer from Manchester City in 2022, Theo Walcott highlighted one major issue in his game.
The retired forward stated that Jesus ‘overcomplicates’ his game and it’s a major issue for him in the final third, as he told Premier League Productions (15/04/24 at 11:10 pm).
The player himself has spoken about not being a natural goalscorer and it’s clearly showing in his game.
Gabriel Jesus as a striker
“The thing with Jesus at times is that he overcomplicates it,” said Walcott. “Like there, he takes a touch where you could first time. Again, he’s not naturally left-footed, but we are talking about a Premier League winner here, who has played for Brazil and knows the finish.
“It’s one of those, he overcomplicates it. I think he puts himself in fantastic positions. You don’t really see many headed goals from Jesus (re his miss at far-post v Villa) and I feel he is looking at somebody to get the tap-in there.
“He has played in different positions for Arsenal. He has played out on the left and tried to find that position. I think Havertz has been in the middle a bit more often. He puts himself in fantastic situations where you would expect someone of his quality to get a few more goals, I would say.”
Arsenal in the Champions League and the Premier League
There is every chance that Arsenal’s season could be over by the time the week is up.
Many think that the Gunners will lose in Munich, mainly because of their inexperience, being away from home and the fact that the opposition are used to this sort of pressure.
And if they follow that up by dropping points in a very tricky away tie at Wolves, then you can wave goodbye to any silverware.
That’s why it’s paramount that Arteta, in both games, plays his strongest XI possible.