Gabriel Jesus 'changed a lot of things' heading into pre-season as Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta reveals Gunners star has found his 'spark' again

Arsenal came back from an early Rasmus Hojlund opener to defeat Manchester United 2-1 at the SoFi Stadium thanks to goals by Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli. It was Jesus' first goal since he scored against Nottingham Forest in January as the Brazilian suffered an injury-ridden second half of the season which saw Kai Havertz move up the pecking order.

Jesus has been heavily linked with a move away from the Emirates all summer long as Arsenal have also been linked with strikers like Viktor Gyokeres among others as Arteta looks to add a proper goal threat to his team. However, it is now unlikely that the Gunners will get to see a striker addition with Sporting wanting Gyokeres' £86 million ($110.5m) release clause paid. Arteta has now poured praise on Jesus and believes he has found his spark again as the Brazilian may stay with the Gunners.

Speaking to the media, Arteta said: "He [Jesus] looks really good, he looks really sharp. He’s changed a lot of things over the summer and he’s come back in top condition again. When you have that baseline, other things can be built but without that foundation, we don’t have a player and he needs to be in that condition to get the best out of him.

"He’s realised that and I’m really happy with what he’s shown today again. You can see by the way he looks, the way he’s moving and you can see in his eyes that there’s a spark there."

The Brazilian remains linked with a move away from the Emirates at the moment with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli having shown interest in his services this summer. However, if the striker does perform during the preseason, Arteta may want him to stay at the club for another season.