‘Lots of doubts’ - Gabriel Jesus admits he’s ‘so happy’ after making return from devastating ACL injury as Arsenal beat Club Brugge

Noni Madueke’s sensational brace and Gabriel Martinelli’s thunderous third inspired Arsenal to a comfortable 3-0 win over Club Brugge. However, it was Jesus' return to action that stole much of the limelight. The Brazilian played only 30 minutes, yet he left a sizeable footprint on the match. His movement, hunger and involvement were impossible to miss. Remarkably, he even registered more touches than Viktor Gyokeres, who had played twice as long. That imbalance was partly owed to tired Brugge legs, but mostly it underlined how naturally Jesus drops deep and links play. He hit the crossbar, wriggled into pockets of space and knitted attacking triangles as if he’d never been away.

Speaking to Arsenal club media, he said: "In the first three months, I had a lot of doubts in my head, and then I could be more focused on what God wants from me. Everyone was expecting me to score. and obviously, I wanted to score. I had some opportunities, but even with that, I'm so happy and so pleased, because to come back and then to have some touches that I had tonight, and then the way I could move, the way I could keep the ball.

"So with 11 months of helping myself and then feeling scared to come back different, maybe with some limitations, just to walk outside and then play with the boys, I'm so pleased. I feel more than ready. So, I'm here to say God saved my life."

His return also reunited Arsenal’s most iconic attacking trio of recent years in Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Martinelli.

"I love him," Martinelli had said before the game. "I always say that he’s one of the best strikers in the world for me, so I’m really happy to have him back - not just on the pitch, but outside the pitch as well. Playing with him is really good. He loves to link up and to move and to rotate."

Mikel Arteta believes Jesus’ qualities go far beyond goals.

"I think he brings something else, and I was really happy to see that," he said. "Gabi has a really special quality, which is that suddenly he connects everybody around him, and that’s something that we as a team need, and it will make us better. So happy for him, I think you can see how much we all love him. It's been a very, very difficult and long journey. For 11 months he's been fighting against another very difficult injury and to see him back with that smile, with that energy and with that quality in his first performance with us is something really impressive and we're all delighted for him."

Jesus’ comeback also triggered a necessary administrative change. Arsenal confirmed teenager Max Dowman, who recently suffered an ankle ligament injury, has been removed from their Champions League A-list and replaced by Jesus. It has been deemed a long-term injury, which will take more than 60 days to recover, and hence, Jesus has walked into the squad. 

A club statement read: "Gabriel Jesus has replaced Max Dowman on our UEFA A list with immediate effect. Therefore, Gabby is eligible to play in our match against Club Brugge in Belgium on Wednesday night. Max, who picked up an ankle injury playing for our under-21s on Saturday, will be added to our UEFA B list in January, but will not be permitted to play in any UEFA competitions for 60 days from today (February 6)."

The comfortable victory in Bruges offered the perfect response to the shock Premier League defeat at Aston Villa that had briefly dampened the mood. With momentum in Europe restored, Arsenal now shift their attention back to the domestic campaign. Next up, they face Wolves, who are at the bottom of the table and winless in 15 games. It should be another cakewalk for the Premier League leaders.