Alan Shearer has now slammed Gabriel Jesus for ‘underperforming’ over the past few years after taking aim at the Arsenal forward for getting his end technique ‘all wrong’.
The 26-year-old has not impressed Shearer at times this term after wasting a few promising goalscoring chances. Jesus especially left a negative imprint on the all-time Premier League record goalscorer with his miss against Tottenham Hotspur early in the north London derby.
Jesus had the perfect opportunity to stretch Arsenal’s lead over their fierce rival after taking possession off James Maddison. But with the goal at his mercy, the Brazilian blazed the ball over the crossbar. He spooned his effort over an otherwise likely helpless Guglielmo Vicario.
Shearer slams Jesus for the Arsenal star’s poor technique
Arsenal already led Tottenham 1-0 through Cristian Romero’s 26th-minute own goal. But the chance to lead 2-0 was there for their taking as Jesus picked Maddison’s pocket in the 32nd minute. Instead, he let Spurs off the hook and Son Heung-Min equalised in the 42nd minute.
Shearer has now picked apart Jesus’ miss during the October international break and taken aim at the Arsenal star’s technique. He believes the £265k-a-week attacker got it ‘all wrong’. It was also only the latest example of why Shearer feels Jesus has underperformed for years.
“Jesus does really well to anticipate the pass and nabs the ball from James Maddison’s toes,” Shearer told The Athletic. “It leaves him in an ideal position in the middle of the goal, with space around him and the choice of aiming either side.
“He goes with the option of hitting his shot with the front of his foot, which is fine. He also goes for power. And there’s nothing wrong with that, either, because power shouldn’t take away from your accuracy. But this is another example of leaning back for a shot.
“Jesus’ body and technique are all wrong. Without wishing to pick on him, he has consistently been underperforming his xG over the past few years, which tells you he’s getting into good positions and isn’t finishing them.”
Shearer has a point, Jesus rarely exceeds his xG
Jesus has scored just once across six Premier League appearances since the Arsenal striker returned from injury in August. He hit home a cool and composed finish against Manchester United. The Brazilian remained poised in the box to evade Jonny Evans and slot his effort in.
But Shearer feels he should have scored more goals, yet Fotmob has Jesus’ expected goals (xG) at just 1.5. The forward has only directed three of his six shots on target in six games so far this season. But Jesus also scored 11 goals from 26 matches last term from an xG of 14.2.
He further failed to meet his xG (10.8) in 2021/22 with Manchester City having scored eight goals in 28 games. The last time Jesus exceeded his xG was in 2020/21 when he scored nine from an xG of 8.7. He featured 29 times that term and attempted 33 shots with 16 on target.
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