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Garth Crooks impressed with the manner in which Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus bagged his opener against Brighton

Arsenal secured a 2-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday to return to the top of the Premier League table, with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz getting the job done.

The Gunners opened the scoring in the 53rd minute after the Brazil international striker directed his header into an empty net to grab his third Premier League goal of the campaign.

Many believe that Jesus scored an easy goal as he had no goalkeeper or defender to beat, but BBC pundit Garth Crooks insists the technique with which the Arsenal star got the opener should not be underrated.

“I heard one pundit say that he shouldn’t miss his goal,” he wrote in his Team of the Week column.

“Well he didn’t, but I have seen chances like the one Gabriel Jesus expertly buried with his head against Brighton missed.

“I thought it was a fabulous header, not least because he was heading into an empty net from a deflection and at an angle with only a narrow corridor to aim at.

“The Brazil international froze like a predator, waiting before making perfect contact with his head and directing the ball exactly where he wanted it to go.

“It was an important goal as it set Arsenal on their way back to the top of the table. I’ll be very interested to see if they are still there in the New Year.”

Jesus is not the most prolific striker there is, but his technical ability has never been in doubt, and his brilliance was glaring yesterday with how he bagged his goal.

He stepped up at a time when Arsenal had missed several chances to put themselves ahead against a very tough side, and his goal came as a huge relief.

The Gunners still have plenty of work to do if they want to win the Premier League title, but they did brilliantly to bounce back from the disappointing defeat to Aston Villa and will be full of belief going forward.

They travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Saturday and will relish their chances of returning to North London with all three points.

Jesus and co will be desperate to prove themselves against the Reds, and how they fare against such a side will go a long way in determining their title credentials.

Arsenal face West Ham United afterwards before visiting Fulham for their last game of 2023 on December 31st, and the next three results will surely have a huge say on their title chances.

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