Arsenal icon Thierry Henry has heaped praise on Gabriel Jesus for his performance in the 6-0 win over RC Lens in the Champions League. The former France forward was particularly impressed with the way the Brazilian opened up space with a sublime piece of skill for his goal.
Henry Believes Jesus Is An Important Player For Arsenal
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal marched on to the Champions League Round of 16 with a massive 6-0 win over French side Lens on Wednesday night (November 29). Kai Havertz opened the scoring for the hosts at the Emirates Stadium in the 13th minute before Jesus joined the party eight minutes later. Bukayo Saka (23′), Gabriel Martinelli (27), and Martin Odegaard (45+1′) also scored in the first half to give the Gunners an unassailable 5-0 lead. Out-of-favor defensive midfielder Jorginho completed the routing with a well-taken penalty in the 86th minute.
Out of the six goals, Jesus’ goal stood due to its sheer ingenuity. Inside the Lens box, Jesus faked his shot before switching to his right foot and slotting the ball into the bottom corner. The 26-year-old had pulled out an identical skill in a 3-1 victory over Manchester United back in September.
On Paramount+’s CBS Sports, Henry could not help but voice his admiration for Jesus’ skill and goal, with him also calling him an integral part of Arteta’s well-oiled machine. The 1998 FIFA World Cup winner said (via HITC):
“I just love this [referring to Jesus’ dummy]. He did it against Manchester United, I don’t know if you remember on the break.
“Everyone thought he was going to shoot there. Watch how he does it. Oops, chops and goes back. Gabriel Jesus is a very important player for us.”
He concluded by adding:
“Will he ever score 20-25? I hope so. But what he does in general, it’s just great for us.”
Jesus Was The Best Player On The Pitch In Gunners’ Champions League Win Over Lens
A few minutes before scoring in jaw-dropping fashion, Jesus set up Havertz’s goal with a sublime header onto the German’s path. He also took players on, was always open to receiving passes, and held his own in one-on-one battles.
Over the course of the game, Jesus completed four dribbles (100% success rate), made three recoveries, drew three fouls, and won 11 of 15 duels. He also created a chance and attempted a tackle against the Ligue 1 outfit.
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