'Frustrating': Micah Richards says he feels 'so sorry' for one Arsenal star after seeing what's happened to him

12/13/2024 02:35 AM

Arsenal have had a number of problems since the start of the 2024/25 season.

The Gunners went into the campaign with the hope of winning the Premier League title. They came agonisingly close in each of the last two seasons.

Arsenal are still in the title race, but injuries, suspensions and poor referring decisions have cost them points in the Premier League. To add to that, some of their senior players have not been in great form.

Micah Richards and Gary Lineker have had their say on one of them.

Micah Richards explains why he feels ‘so sorry’ for Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus

Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City in the summer of 2022.

The Brazilian started his Gunners career with a bang. He was magnificent in his first few months at the Emirates and was, in many peoples’ eyes, the signing of the season.

However, Jesus suffered an injury during the World Cup in Qatar, and he hasn’t been the same since. He looks nothing like the player he once was and has been really struggling to get going.

Mikel Arteta handed Jesus a start against Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and the Brazilian missed two big chances.

However, he worked tirelessly for as long as he was on the pitch and did well to assist Bukayo Saka for his opening goal in the first half.

Richards is delighted to see Jesus assisting again, but the pundit also claimed that he feels really ‘sorry’ for him because of everything that has happened over the last 18 months or so.

He said on the Rest is Football podcast: “I thought Jesus did quite well as well. Not in terms of like putting his chances away, but in terms of work rate.”

Lineker added: “He just can’t get himself a goal, can he? Just can’t get himself a goal.”

Richards replied: “You feel so sorry for him, but the work that he puts in for the team was brilliant and has been brilliant.

“I know he started so well. It’s been frustrating. He got the injury, he came back from the injury. He’s been a shadow of the player, but a lot of the good work with Arsenal comes from his hard work, and he got his assist. So, I was happy for him.”

Lineker then said: “He does run himself into the ground. He’s got a lot of qualities. He’s in a rut, isn’t he, in terms of the goals thing, but I’m sure he’ll come out of it."

One shocking stat sums up Gabriel Jesus’ year at Arsenal

Everyone knows just how talented Jesus really is.

The Brazilian, on his day, can win games on his own. He showed that quality in his first two months as a Gunner at the start of the 2022/23 season.

That helped Arsenal become title contenders, and they have been challenging for the Premier League crown ever since.

However, as a striker, you are only judged by your goals, and Jesus is not doing enough on that front – he has scored just twice in all competitions in 2024.

The first of those came at the end of January against Nottingham Forest. His second was in the EFL Cup against Preston North End exactly nine months later.

If Jesus wants to stay at Arsenal, he has to start scoring goals. If he doesn’t, we think the Gunners will move him on in one of the two windows in 2025.