9 | Gabriel Jesus - 2021/22 Performances

[WallyA]

Goal, assist and tracking back to take Neymar out to stop the counter. Brilliant 35mins and shows he can still do it at CF

The shift to false 9 has taken emphasis away from our striker and requires the whole team to score.

This honestly suits Jesus perfectly as a false 9, now people will not have the same level of expectation that he needs to score all the goals, our false 9 contributes in many other ways as well (creating, making space for others, pressing).

He will likely be rotated between false 9 and winger which is fine, but it's good for the team that we lose the focal point that can be easily marked out, virtually all our forwards can now play there.

 

[DATOIA]

Bring this boy back to CF - enough about this RW bullshit - we have better players there..

 

[Shaffer92]

Bring this boy back to CF - enough about this RW bullshit - we have better players there..

I think most people on here realize he’s our best option up there. It’s just a matter of if he’s ‘willing’ to play there. He’s strong, low center of gravity, good technically, can pick a pass, etc. all the attributes of a 9.

 

[TFC]

What a cameo. Well done kid.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

I think most people on here realize he’s our best option up there. It’s just a matter of if he’s ‘willing’ to play there. He’s strong, low center of gravity, good technically, can pick a pass, etc. all the attributes of a 9.

The problem is he isn’t afforded any leeway. He is our best option up front but he isn’t Aguero. We had an elite level striker and as much as I love Gabby, he is unlikely to ever be elite in the Aguero sense. As soon as he misses a 1v1 fans will be calling him out and want a replacement. Out wide is the safer option for him because he produces the same performances but the pressure for goals is off and he gets given more slack from fans.

 

[DATOIA]

Yep, but Sterling, Mahrez and Foden are better wingers on that RW position..

As a LW I think he can deliver more - but there we have Foden and Grealish...

So the only position where he is better than the others is CF. There is Torres and KDB sometimes,
but in overall GJ is our best CF right now..

That's why he should be played as a CF, his preference isn't that important.. :D

 

[ninjamonkey]

Made such a difference having a presence upfront. Brilliant impact, I was shocked to see him on the bench but I think that was simply because we would have had zero attacking options from the bench if he had started.

 

[OrigamiNinja]

Yep, but Sterling, Mahrez and Foden are better wingers on that RW position..

As a LW I think he can deliver more - but there we have Foden and Grealish...

So the only position where he is better than the others is CF. There is Torres and KDB sometimes,
but in overall GJ is our best CF right now..

That's why he should be played as a CF, his preference isn't that important.. :D

I don’t think Sterling or Mahrez have shown anything more consistently on the right to suggest they should start over Jesus I would take him out there over either of them, every time. I know what I am getting from Jesus. Mahrez plays well when he feels like it and Sterling has been woeful for a long time.

 

[Shaffer92]

Yep, but Sterling, Mahrez and Foden are better wingers on that RW position..

As a LW I think he can deliver more - but there we have Foden and Grealish...

So the only position where he is better than the others is CF. There is Torres and KDB sometimes,
but in overall GJ is our best CF right now..

That's why he should be played as a CF, his preference isn't that important.. :D

Yup. I’ve said before that I think sooner or later Pep is going to have to have a tough conversation with him.

 

[DATOIA]

I don’t think Sterling or Mahrez have shown anything more consistently on the right to suggest they should start over Jesus I would take him out there over either of them, every time. I know what I am getting from Jesus. Mahrez plays well when he feels like it and Sterling has been woeful for a long time.

If there is statistics for Sterling playing as a RW - I think he has best goals and assists ratio there..

I am not talking about LW, there he plays below average - but as a RW he is the best and whenever Pep plays him there, he always delivers..

As for the Mahreze come on, even last year in CL playoffs he delivered and right now he is our best scorer, even though he doesn't play that much..

 

[OrigamiNinja]

If there is statistics for Sterling playing as a RW - I think he has best goals and assists ratio there..

I am not talking about LW, there he plays below average - but as a RW he is the best and whenever Pep plays him there, he always delivers..

As for the Mahreze come on, even last year in CL playoffs he delivered and right now he is our best scorer, even though he doesn't play that much..

I can’t have Sterling in the equation until he improves drastically. He has shown that he can deliver more than Jesus and Mahrez combined but it was a long time ago and until he gets anywhere near his top level he is not in the argument IMO.

Mahrez best work comes in Euro and International football, so there is an argument that he starts in CL games over Jesus. We play 38 domestic league games every season though and Mahrez doesn’t have any consistency in these games at all. Jesus starts over him every PL game for me.

 

[jimmygrimblesboots]

Ran PSG ragged for 20 minutes , he was the difference , a strikers instinct with Brazilan flair , great attitude and aggression and a determined little sod , not sure of his contract situation but it needs extending he's going to be a big player over the next few seasons.

 

[Thaksinssoldier]

A silent monster.

 

[MCFC1993]

Winner at Chelsea, winner at PSG.

I would like to see him back at striker. Especially as it would still give him the opportunities to float around.

 

[chesterbells]

He showed why we need (another) striker in the squad, as well as him.
That was a striker’s instinct and positioning on show on that goal wasn’t it?

 

[Tokyo32]

I know he has said he prefers playing out wide and pep has also acknowledged it but he is surely our best option without torres. He would never be clinical but no one is really clinical in our side and he has that physically that none of our false nines have.

 

[Manchester_lalala]

Never lets us down and always gives defenders a good battle.

 

[youngbob]

Made the difference last night. Brilliant performance.

 

[domalino]

I think for this side to win everything, we need him to play as a striker sometimes.

It made such a big difference to our play last night just having that focal point in the attack. Creates more scoring opportunities for the non-strikers, and obviously he can finish.

He obviously struggles with the pressure of being the number 9 in the wake of being expected to be better than Aguero every time he played for the past 4 years but Pep's got to get him past that.

We almost have to con him into thinking he's playing another position - which he is sort of doing, because if you look at his goals this season, they're all strikers finishes from around the 6 yard box when he rotates into the 9 position.

 

[bobbyowenquiff]

Winner at Chelsea, winner at PSG.

I would like to see him back at striker. Especially as it would still give him the opportunities to float around.

Gabby always turns up for the big matches..Real Madrid, FA Cup final and semi, PSG, Chelsea, Liverpool etc etc.
He is the most under-rated player in the PL in my view and would walk into most top European teams...just for his workrate.