Gabriel Jesus praised Arsenal’s mentality after their convincing home win over Aston Villa, marking his return to the scoresheet and a key response to last month’s defeat.
Gabriel Jesus highlighted Arsenal’s strong mentality after the Gunners produced an emphatic victory over Aston Villa, delivering a timely response to their recent defeat against the same opponents.
After a goalless first half, Arsenal took control early in the second period when Bukayo Saka’s corner caused confusion in the Villa box, with Emiliano Martínez failing to deal with the delivery as the ball deflected in off Gabriel’s thigh.
The hosts doubled their lead minutes later through Martin Zubimendi, who calmly finished after Martin Ødegaard split the Villa defence with a sublime pass, before Leandro Trossard added a third with a powerful long-range effort.
Jesus then capped the performance by scoring his first goal since New Year’s Day shortly after coming off the bench, underlining his growing influence and adding further gloss to Arsenal’s dominant display, before Ollie Watkins struck a late consolation for the visitors.
The win carried extra significance for Jesus and his teammates, coming just 24 days after a painful stoppage-time defeat at Villa Park, and served as a statement of Arsenal’s resilience and determination.
“It was amazing,” Jesus told Sky Sports. “It’s always hard to play against Villa. They come here to try to hurt us, slow the game down, but we won because of the mentality.”
