Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus’ call-up to the Brazil national squad has been heavily criticised.
The 26-year-old is one of Arsenal‘s best players. When he is fit, he is a nightmare for defenders to play against, but his form hasn’t always been great for his country. That’s why Neto has an issue with his selection.
Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus branded as ‘mediocre’
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is one of the best players in the Premier League.
The Brazilian can do it all. He scores goals, provides assists, links play up and works harder than most other forwards in the Premier League. The defensive side of his game is fantastic too.
Mikel Arteta absolutely loves Jesus for the above reasons, and perhaps Brazil boss Fernando Diniz is a huge admirer of those traits as well.
Jesus has been injured since Arsenal’s win over Sevilla in Spain last month. He hasn’t played a game since, but Diniz insisted on flying him over instead of allowing him to recover in North London.
Neto, who represented Brazil in past, is furious that the Arsenal man has been picked.
He said on Os Donos da Bola, as translated by Sportwitness: “If the Brazilian national team belonged to the people, who would you call up in place of Gabriel Jesus, who isn’t even included in the Arsenal squad?
“Why is Gabriel Jesus with the national team? Because the national team belongs to the CBF. It’s not possible that a centre-forward who hasn’t scored a goal in two World Cups, I can’t belittle Gabriel Jesus, but as a national team player, he’s mediocre.
“He’s not a centre-forward. He’s not Careca, he’s not Ronaldo, Romário or Vavá. How can you call up a team that isn’t Brazilian, that belongs to the CBF? You call up an injured player. He doesn’t train. I saw it yesterday.”
Jesus will be back from his injury soon
Gabriel Jesus has missed the last six games for Arsenal and Brazil in all competitions due to the hamstring injury he picked up in Seville.
It was a real shame to see the Brazilian sidelined as he looked really sharp in his final game before the injury. He provided a brilliant assist to Gabriel Martinelli and then scored an absolute stunner to help Arsenal win that game.
The Gunners have done well without Jesus, but their attack just isn’t the same when he doesn’t play. Thankfully, the 26-year-old is said to be in the final stages of his recovery, and there is even a chance he could be available for the game against Argentina next week.
That means he should be back for Arsenal’s game against Brentford after the international break, which would be a big boost for the Gunners.