Arteta must axe Arsenal dud who Thierry Henry would “love” to play with

There is no escaping it now: this season has been a disappointing one for Arsenal so far.

After two campaigns of fighting at the top of the Premier League table, the Gunners have looked miles off the pace this year and, as things stand, sit six points off league leaders Liverpool, who also have a game in hand.

Now, Mikel Arteta’s side have certainly been unlucky in the injury department and been on the wrong end of a few overzealous refereeing decisions. Still, much of the team’s problems stem from their own performances.

Several stars have seen their form seriously drop off so far this season, including one big-money signing with whom Thierry Henry claimed he would have loved playing.

Arsenal’s poor performers

So, before we get to the player in question, it’s worth examining some of the other disappointments this season, starting with Gabriel Martinelli.

Now, the sad thing about the Brazilian winger is that following an underwhelming campaign last year in which he produced just 13 goal involvements, his poor performances this season have not come as a massive surprise.

The former Ituano gem has just four goals and two assists to his name in 22 games so far and looks a shadow of the player who was almost unstoppable in 22/23.

It feels like the 23-year-old has almost entirely lost the ability to take an opponent on, and on the rare occasions in which he has beaten a defender this season, he’s often either missed with his shot or made the wrong pass.

Unfortunately for Arteta, the player he favoured over the Guarulhos-born gem towards the end of last season, Leandro Trossard, has also gone somewhat off the boil this year.

The Belgian ace has also racked up just four goals and two assists in 22 games, a far cry from the sensational haul of 17 goals and two assists he managed last season.

Moreover, when he has found himself in dangerous positions this season, the former Brighton & Hove Albion ace has also made poor decisions or been somewhat greedy, to the team’s detriment.

Overall, both wingers are causing the manager problems this season, although they are still giving him something more than one of their big-money teammates once lauded by Henry.

The Arsenal star Arteta must axe

So, to get straight to the point, the Arsenal player in question is none other than Gabriel Jesus.

The Brazilian striker joined the club for around £45m in the summer of 2022 and made a significant impact on the team in his first year, scoring 11 goals and providing seven assists in 33 appearances.

However, the former Manchester City ace underwent knee surgery midway through the campaign, and while he was still effective afterwards, some of his sharpness and agility had clearly disappeared.

Still, at the start of the following season, Arsenal and Premier League legend Thierry Henry was full of praise for the 27-year-old, telling CBS Sports “I would have loved to play with him” and that “what he offers and what he does for the team is second to none.”

However, as the season progressed, the French icon’s appraisal of the striker appeared more and more disconnected from reality.

While he ended the campaign with a reasonable haul of eight goals and eight assists in 36 games, he had lost his place to Kai Havertz.

Unfortunately, instead of putting up a fight to take it back this season, the Sao Paulo-born dynamo has regressed even further, and after 20 mostly substitute appearances, he has a single goal and two assists to his name.

Moreover, the 5 foot 9 marksman simply looks like a shadow of his former self, with his recent performances against Fulham, AS Monaco and Everton, particularly woeful.

Now, if he was simply a squad player, then this might not be such a big deal, but on top of his hefty transfer fee, he’s also earning a whopping £265k-per-week, which makes him the second-highest-paid player in the squad, and he is not even close to justifying that at the moment.

Ultimately, while Jesus is an incredibly talented player, his form over the last year and a bit has been genuinely poor, and with no signs of improvement in the previous few games, Arteta and Co should be looking to sell him as soon as possible.