Oliver Glasner will dread repeat of history as Arsenal star who transforms vs Crystal Palace set for comeback
Gabriel Jesus looks set to return to the Arsenal starting line-up against Crystal Palace for the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday night.
Arsenal have been without Jesus for almost a year, after the forward tore his anterior cruciate ligament in January.
The striker finally made his long-awaited comeback against Club Brugge in the Champions League, and has featured off the bench against Wolves and Everton.
Jesus could be handed his first start against Palace, however, with Mikel Arteta hoping to build his fitness back up.
Arsenal have a secret weapon in Jesus, who can offer a very different style to both Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz.
When Crystal Palace became sick of the sight of Gabriel Jesus
Jesus was largely limited to the Arsenal bench before his injury last season. The Brazilian would be selected for cup games, making brief appearances in the Champions League and the Premier League.
But when the forward netted a hat-trick against Palace, in the Carabao Cup quarter-final, no less, Arteta was left with no choice but to keep him in the team.
The 28-year-old had equalised for the Gunners with a lovely dinked finish before finding space once again in the box and smashing into the bottom corner.
In the closing moments, Jesus was found through on goal again, and found the same corner with another ruthless finish.
Finishing had often been the only problem for the ex-Manchester City man, but that night, he appeared transformed.
He was named in the starting line-up again just three days later as Arsenal, conveniently, played Palace again.
And Jesus was happy to start where he left off, netting his fourth and fifth goals against the Eagles within 14 minutes.
The Brazilian came within inches of adding his second consecutive hat-trick, but his header came off the post and was tucked away by Havertz.
Mikel Arteta names Jesus’ biggest quality
While Gyokeres will attract defenders away from Arsenal attackers by providing a physical presence in the middle, Jesus does things differently.
The Brazilian is often prone to appearing on the flank before taking on his man, allowing the wingers to rotate into the central positions.
“I think that’s probably the biggest quality of Gabby,” Arteta explained. “Bringing people together, connecting with people, generating a lot of uncertainty in the opponent.
“When you see him today, the amount of spaces that he was involved in. That’s his biggest quality, so we need to exploit that.”