Arsenal attacker Gabriel Jesus has insisted that his sole focus is to "help the team" after being shifted from centre-forward to left-wing in recent weeks.
The Brazil international arrived at the Emirates in 2022 with the intention of cementing himself as Mikel Arteta's first-choice number nine following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette's departures.
Jesus - who often played second fiddle to Sergio Aguero at Man City - immediately took on centre-forward duties in North London and impressed in his first few weeks, but during his lengthy absence with a knee injury, Eddie Nketiah staked his claim for regular starts.
The 26-year-old started the 2023-24 season at the tip of the attack following another knee problem, scoring from such a position against PSV Eindhoven, Lens and Manchester United so far.
However, Jesus has been deployed out wide in each of Arsenal's last three Premier League games owing to injuries to first-choice left-winger Gabriel Martinelli and number one right-winger Bukayo Saka.
© Reuters
The former Palmeiras protege was deployed on the left flank against Bournemouth and Spurs, allowing Nketiah to take on centre-forward duties while Saka flaunted his skills on the right-hand side.
With Saka out of contention against Man City and Martinelli not deemed ready to start, Jesus shifted over to the right wing against his former club, with Leandro Trossard on the left flank.
Arteta also has Reiss Nelson and Fabio Vieira capable of playing out wide, but his persistence with Nketiah - who has gone five top-flight games without scoring - has forced Jesus to take on his least preferred position.
Speaking to reporters while on duty with Brazil, Jesus revealed that he made it clear to both Arteta and sporting director Edu that he wants to play centrally, but he is willing to make personal sacrifices for the needs of the team.
"Edu and Arteta spoke to me. And I made it clear that I'd like to play No9. That was Arsenal's idea, for me to play No9, with freedom," the Evening Standard quotes Jesus as saying.
© Reuters
"This season has been different, we've had injuries and in the last few games we've played three up front. For a while, I thought I'd just say I wanted to play at No9, but I'm here to help the team. I'm blessed by God to have this talent and the versatility to play in all three forward positions."
Last month, Arteta lavished praise on Jesus for "changing our world" as the South American added a newfound effervescent spark to their attack, telling the media: "He is a tremendous player, a really important player for us.
"He changed our world last season. You could all see that. He is going to be a really important player for us. I think he brought a different energy, a different belief, a different threat, a different fear to opponents. And he did it in a really natural way. He contributed hugely to the step that we had last season."
Jesus has now amassed 14 goals and eight assists from 42 games in an Arsenal shirt across all tournaments and will seek to build on a tally of 19 goals from 61 Brazil appearances in their upcoming World Cup 2026 qualifiers against Venezuela and Uruguay on October 12 and 17 respectively.
Martinelli is not involved for the Selecao due to his recent injury, though, while England's Saka and Belgium's Trossard have both withdrawn from their respective camps alongside France defender William Saliba.
Ben Knapton
