Richards picks out one ‘sensational’ Arsenal player for special praise vs Leicester

Joe Williams
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring

Micah Richards has heaped praise on Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus after the Gunners’ 4-2 victory over Leicester City on Saturday.

The Brazilian, who signed from Manchester City for £45m, scored the first two goals of the match as the Gunners raced into a 2-0 lead against Brendan Rodger’s men.

A William Saliba own-goal cut the deficit on 53 minutes before Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka immediately restored their two-goal lead.


Arsenal and Jesus making it hard not to get carried away after Leicester demolition


And Gabriel Martinelli quickly extinguished any hope that the Foxes had of getting back into the game by scoring their fourth goal straight after James Maddison had made it 3-2.

But it was Jesus who stole the show for Arsenal with two goals and two assists with the former City player earning a rave review from Richards.

Richards said on Match of the Day: “He was sensational. Everything he did was brilliant. I watched him at Manchester City, but at Arsenal he seems a different player.

“He seems a lot more confident. He was so unlucky not to get his hat-trick. He’s got everything in his game.

“He popped up in so many positions, he’s alert in the box. His all-round game was brilliant.

“I’m just happy for him because at Man City he gave so much in terms of work rate, but now it feels he is the main man. A great day for him, it really was.”

Speaking after the 4-2 win over Leicester, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said: “We know what Gaby can do. He scored two assists too and he’s feeling disappointed in that dressing room because he said he could have scored four.

“That’s the standard, that’s the mentality you want. To go to a different level, you need that mentality.

“I wouldn’t like to play against him. I’ve never been a defender but I can imagine that they don’t enjoy it. He’s so mobile, so intuitive and he’s always sharp and pro-active to play in any moment at any phase of the game, and he’s a real threat.”

Arteta added on Jesus: “He lifts the standards. The way every day he’s training, the way he’s talking today, the way they are connecting, I think it’s very natural, but at the same time it’s pretty impressive to do it that quickly.”

Speaking after Arsenal made it two wins out of two, Jesus said: “I am so happy because we played so good against a tough opponent. I work all day every day to score goals. I was not unhappy at Manchester City, I just wanted to play and the club understood.”