Michail Antonio really doesn’t like what he’s heard Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus say recently

Gabriel Jesus is having a tough time of it recently.

The Brazilian has only scored three league goals this season, and it seems as though he’s starting to get into his own head.

Jesus has stated himself that he doesn’t believe scoring goals is his main strength, but speaking on the Footballer’s Football Podcast, Michail Antonio has gone out to bat for the Brazilian.

Antonio says that Jesus shouldn’t say this sort of thing about himself, harking back to his early form at Arsenal, noting that he can score plenty of goals when he’s playing with confidence.

Photo by Robin Jones/Getty ImagesJesus is overthinking

Antonio shared his verdict on the striker.

“I feel like Jesus killed himself when he went away with Brazil and said I’m not a goalscoring striker, I’m not a goalscoring forward. I feel like, I don’t think that’s something a player in his position should have said, being the number nine for Arsenal. I feel like he is quality, he is an unbelievable player and he should have the confidence that he is a goalscoring forward for the career that he’s had. The amount of times he came off the bench and scored for Man City, he is a bagsman. But right now he is obviously feeling the pressure with everyone saying he is not scoring enough,” Antonio said.

“Before the injury he was bagging so many goals, he is a goalscorer, nobody can tell him that he isn’t a goalscorer, but because he’s at Arsenal and he’s not scoring as frequently as he was before, people start talking about it and you have to defend yourself, these things can mess with your mind and can make you miss the chances like he missed against West Ham, because he’s overthinking it rather than just sticking his head on the ball.”

Needs more confidence

Antonio is absolutely right, Jesus needs to back himself more.

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Not to sound too spiritual, but sometimes you can speak things into existence.

If Jesus believes in his mind that he’s not good at scoring goals, then he’s not going to be winning the Golden Boot anytime soon.

Momentum, mentality and confidence are all so important in top-level football, and Jesus is unfortunately lacking in those areas at the moment.

The Arsenal striker needs to back himself more, and if he starts playing with a bit more confidence, the goals should follow.

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