LONDON — When Arsenal signed Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, the pair provided a genuine improvement in quality and mentality to a promising young side.
As the Gunners eased their way past AS Monaco 3-0 at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night in the UEFA Champions League, it was tempting to conclude that Mikel Arteta’s side are close to leaving both behind.
Part of that is the individual regression both Jesus and Zinchenko have seemingly suffered but also the establishment of a fresh pedigree in Europe’s biggest competitions led by others — most obviously on a night like this, Bukayo Saka.
Saka’s brace settled a contest that felt in the balance for much longer than it should have, not least because of Jesus’ first-half profligacy. Twice he raced through on goal, twice his effort lacked conviction and Monaco goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki saved. The flip side is Jesus deserves credit for laying on Saka’s opening 34th-minute goal with a clever run and cross which the England international steered home at the back post but he left the field on 73 minutes without a goal to his name, extending a frankly dismal record to just one from his last 32 matches.
Jesus and Zinchenko possess a wealth of experience in this competition but his replacement here was Kai Havertz, a 2021 Champions League winner with Chelsea and whose impact was keenly felt: the German’s high press forced an error which Saka capitalised on for Arsenal’s second before Thilo Kehrer, again under pressure from Havertz, turned the ball into his own net from Saka’s cross.
And so, where players like Jesus and Zinchenko — injured once again here — would have been expected to help navigate the emotional complexities of a challenging night against smart European opposition, Jesus instead resembled more of a passenger as Saka came to the fore.
“He keeps surprising us,” said Arteta of Saka.
“That’s what he wants to do. That’s the quality that he has, that’s the ambition that he has and how he’s preparing himself every day. I’m not surprised, but it’s very difficult to do what he’s doing.
“That has been an evolution. He wasn’t able to do that at 17, 18 or 19. But he has developed in the right way, mentally, physically, his condition, and his preparation, now he has got the habit of playing every three days and he is consistently doing that at the highest level.
“He will continue to do that and for the youngest players, for the old ones, and for all of us he is a great example because of how he behaves daily and because of what he wants to do, which is to have his best version every day, and continue to improve and that’s it.”
Saka’s consistency at the highest level is worthy of reiteration. Only Mohamed Salah (16 goals, 12 assists) has registered more goal involvements among Premier League players this season than Saka’s nine goals and 12 assists.
He moves on to eight Champions League goals, which may still feel a modest tally but it steers him past club legend Dennis Bergkamp and Mesut Özil, whose £42.4 million arrival from Real Madrid in 2013 was also expected to herald the dawn of a new era.
Zinchenko’s absence deepened Arsenal’s defensive issues with Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães and Takehiro Tomiyasu all out and, instead of turning to the experience of Kieran Tierney, Arteta opted to make Myles Lewis-Skelly the youngest Arsenal player to start a game in this competition since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in 2011.
It was only the 18-year-old’s seventh senior appearance and the maturity he showed for 64 minutes here only further complicates Zinchenko’s route back to the first team.
Lewis-Skelly’s smart play helped release Jesus for Arsenal’s first goal and although Arteta felt compelled to introduce Jurriën Timber as Monaco began to threaten down his flank, the Hale End academy graduate staked a strong claim for further inclusion, completing 45 out of 47 passes.
“He’s one of our own, 18-years-old and he makes his debut starting in the Champions League,” said Arteta.
“It’s just a joy to watch him and a privilege to give a chance to somebody to start to change his career. He certainly took the chance. It’s great that we can trust him and that he can play in this environment with this level.”
Arsenal’s profligacy — Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Ødegaard were also culpable — could have cost them on another night and Arteta added: “We should have scored four or five in the first half. It wasn’t the case.
“We can teach [the players], and sometimes we have to take a step back. [Finishing chances] is a decision they have to take. They cannot be thinking what they have to do and what we have to tell them. We try to give them the right information and the tools. After that, it is their execution and it is a difficult thing to do in football, but we have a lot of talent.”
While Zinchenko could potentially depart if a suitable offer arises, Arteta has ruled out the possibility of moving Jesus on in the January transfer window. But it is no secret that Arsenal want to strengthen their forward line next year and any funds raised through player sales will be welcome.
The Gunners are more likely to wait for the bigger opportunities the summer window represents, and so Jesus may have more chances to prove he is part of Arsenal’s present and not their past. He needs to take one soon.
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