Mikel Arteta has praised Gabriel Jesus for bringing “belief” and “energy” to Arsenal as the forward shone in victory at Sevilla.
Jesus continued his love affair with the Champions League with a fine goal and assist double as the Gunners won 2-1 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
A piece of magic set up compatriot Gabriel Martinelli to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time before Jesus doubled the lead with a fine, curling finish of his own – although he later limped off having moments earlier held his hamstring.
The Brazil forward may not boast the most prolific strike record but he has now scored an impressive 23 goals in 41 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition.
Asked if Jesus had been signed from Manchester City because of his prowess in the competition, Arteta replied: “For sure. He has been through a lot in the last few years and he’s still really young.
“He has enormous experiences – some of them not the nicest but very necessary to be the player that he is today. I’m really happy to have him in the team.
“He came here for a reason. I think he changed our world. He brought so much belief and energy to that team, he needs to step in in those moments. He’s done that. That’s when a player becomes accountable for the team.
“Big games are for big players. He needed to produce those moments to win in a stadium like this. He’s done it for us in a really big way. Then, really sad because he felt something in his hamstring and I’m worried about that.
“We need those players to win games. If you want to play Manchester City, then go to Stamford Bridge, then come here – that’s the level we’re at right now. To come here and win, big credit to the boys.”
Jesus’ night ended as he hobbled off to be replaced by Eddie Nketiah in the latter stages – with Arteta admitting he is concerned for the striker.
“(I am) really sad because he felt something in his hamstring and I’m worried about that,” he added.
“He straight away asked to be subbed which is not good news because Gabriel is not a player who does that at all. We will have to wait and see in the next few days.”
The victory saw Arsenal recover from defeat in Lens last time out and was enough to take them to the top of Group B at the halfway stage.
Arteta’s side will be in a good position to reach the knockout stages if they beat Sevilla in the return game at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight and the Spaniard was pleased with the reaction to defeat in France.
“That result against Lens put us in a difficult position and the team had to react,” he said.
“We are coming from the back of very difficult games where the team has to step in and go against adversity as well with some of the injuries that we picked up to big players.
“The team is so willing to at least try their best even if we don’t manage to be our best all the time.”
Madrid update on Mbappe's recovery after questions over France absence
Kylian Mbappe was pictured by Real Madrid during an individual recovery programme amid growing questions over his France absence.
Madrid released a statement on Monday to update on the forward's recovery from a muscle issue that kept him out of France's October internationals squad.
Questions had persisted from reports in France after Mbappe was spotted in a Swedish nightclub on Thursday, when Didier Deschamps' side hammered Israel.
Deschamps insisted the matter was not an issue to discuss, though speculation remains over Mbappe's commitment to France, with reports suggesting he is prioritising Madrid and a potential Ballon d'Or.
Los Blancos seemingly sought to quash any growing murmurs of discontent by confirming Mbappe's appearance at the club before France's 2-1 win over Belgium in Brussels.
"Kylian Mbappe continues to work on his individual fitness plan," a short club statement read.
"The forward is working on his own as he tries to recover fully from the discomfort in the biceps femoris of his left leg.
"He trained on his own in the gym and out on the pitch at Real Madrid City, under the guidance of Antonio Pintus, who is in charge of the club's physical preparation."
Mbappe subsequently posted a picture on Instagram of him in the Madrid gym, captioned "back to work" as the former Paris Saint-Germain forward continues his recovery.
The 25-year-old was joined by goalkeeping pair Thibaut Courtois and Andriy Lunin before more of Carlo Ancelotti's squad return from international football on Tuesday.
Deschamps' men did not feel Mbappe's absence, however, as Randal Kolo Muani's brace secured the vital victory over Belgium to boost their top-two hopes in the Nations League.
Luis de la Fuente backed his Spain side to step-up in their Nations League clash against Serbia, despite being without a plethora of their "irreplaceable" players.
Spain know a victory over Tuesday's opponents will put them within touching distance of qualification, having taken seven points from their first three games.
However, De la Fuente will be without Barcelona's Lamine Yamal for the clash in Cordoba, with the 17-year-old the latest name to withdraw from La Roja's ranks.
Yamal limped off in the 93rd minute of their Nations League win over Denmark before returning to Barcelona to undergo further tests, revealing he suffered a hamstring strain.
"(Yamal) is irreplaceable," De la Fuente told a press conference on Monday. "(But) we have to play eleven and whoever replaces him will want to make a statement.
"Lamine is fantastic, but... you have to understand that, in this life, nobody gives anything away for free. Whoever has to replace him, I'm sure they will do it very well."
Yamal has since been replaced in the squad by Atletico Madrid's Rodrigo Riquelme, who will be hoping to make an impact against Serbia.
Yamal's absence only added to Spain's injury woes, with the European champions now without seven key players for the visit of Dragan Stojkovic's side.
Nico Williams, Unai Simon, Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Rodri and Dani Olmo, who all starred in their Euro 2024 success, are all also unavailable due to injury.
"They are (too) irreplaceable, each one brings different things to the table. But we are lucky that this is a national team and the best players come here," De la Fuente said.
"I never miss anyone, because those who are playing are (also) very good.
"Obviously, we don't work with closed blocks as it happens at club level, but we also have players who have been here for a long time and internalise the messages.
"In a club you have much more time to do many more things than we do."
Bellamy wants more from Wales after extending unbeaten start
Craig Bellamy insists there is still room for improvement for Wales after seeing off Montenegro 1-0 to make it four games without defeat.
Harry Wilson's 36th-minute penalty earned Wales all three points in Monday's Nations League Group B4 clash at Cardiff City Stadium.
Bellamy, who succeeded Rob Page in July, is the first Wales head coach to avoid defeat in his first four games in charge of the senior men's side.
As well as beating Montenegro home and away, Wales have also drawn 0-0 at home to Turkiye and 2-2 in Iceland.
Reflecting on his side's latest win, Bellamy told S4C: "I was impressed by us being able to control the tempo of the second half, but we still need improvement on it.
"You will get breaks and it feels like you can score because they have players forward, but it's also dangerous then for the counter.
"That transitional game becomes a little complicated, whereas in the first half they sat a lot deeper which allows us to really control the tempo of the game. Of course at the moment that really suits us.
"But we have got to stay calm, in transition but even when we have knockdowns and balls in and around.
"You secure the ball and pass to your team-mates and there are still bits for improvement we need, but we were better than last time."
Match-winner Wilson has now been directly involved in nine goals in his past 11 appearances for Wales, as many as in his previous 41 matches.
The Fulham forward kept his place in a much-changed Wales side on the back of Friday's draw in Iceland, which showed seven alterations in all.
Wilson was the star performer in a game Wales dominated for large parts, with Montenegro failing to register a single shot on target.
It means the Dragons have avoided facing an effort on target in two of their past seven matches across all competitions, matching the tally from their previous 34 games.
For all Wales' dominance, though, Montenegro substitute Andrija Radulovic fired a 20-yard drive against the crossbar.
"There were a lot of changes, and a lot of players who all definitely deserved the opportunity to play as well," Bellamy added. "The Nations League is so good and so competitive."
Wales trail leaders Turkiye by two points heading into next month's contest in Kayseri, before the Dragons round off their Nations League campaign at home to Iceland.
Montenegro, bottom of the table without a point and on a record run of six losses in a row, host Iceland and Turkiye in their final two matches.
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