Following Arsenal’s elimination from the Europa League by Sporting CP on Thursday night, Arsenal player Gabriel Jesus made a two-word request to his teammates to boost morale.
Following Arsenal’s Europa League defeat to Sporting CP on Thursday night, striker Gabriel Jesus encouraged his teammates to stay positive.
Arsenal drew 2-2 in the first leg, and they started the second leg strongly, with Granit Xhaka scoring in the first half. They struggled to win individual battles, allowing Sporting CP to control the match for long stretches, and Pedro Goncalves scored a superb long-range effort to tie the game at 1-1. The game went into extra time, during which Manuel Ugarte was sent off for a poor challenge on Bukayo Saka. Ruben Amorim’s team converted all of their penalties in the shootout, while Gabriel Martinelli missed his, resulting in Mikel Arteta’s team exiting the competition at the round of 16.
After the game, Arsenal’s center-forward Gabriel Jesus took to social media to encourage his teammates.
He captioned a photo of Arsenal players standing on the halfway line during the penalty shootout, “Heads up,” with fist bump and heart emojis. Jesus had been sidelined for more than three months due to a knee injury suffered while playing for Brazil in the World Cup in November. He did, however, play in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Fulham on Sunday.
The Gunners’ next game is at home against Crystal Palace, who fired manager Patrick Vieira on Friday morning.
Arsenal’s next game is against Crystal Palace, whose manager, Patrick Vieira, was fired on Friday morning.
