In the last call up made by Brazil manager Tite, one of the biggest surprises was certainly the absence of Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus.
The 25-year-old may have had ups and downs in the past few years which sometimes took him out of the national team, but with his great start to the season with the Gunners, it was strange to see him out of the list for the upcoming friendlies.
It turns out Jesus is keeping up his good form at Arsenal, having scored in the 3-0 win over Brentford at the weekend. He now has four goals and three assists in eight appearances for Mikel Arteta’s side.
So when speaking to ESPN Brasil after Sunday’s match, he was asked about being left out of the national team list. The player claimed that’s not something he can control, and revealed that manager Tite got in touch with him in a private conversation.
“There was (contact), after the call-up, yes,” Gabriel Jesus told ESPN Brasil.
“I respect the coach’s decision a lot, I respect Tite, the entire staff. As I said, I’m Brazilian, I’ll always root for the team. And I also respect the other players, who have a lot of quality. I’ll keep doing my best to have the opportunity again.
“What is in my control is my performance. I will always try to give my best, finish the plays. Today I had some chances that I could also improve a little more, I know. I’ve been training, trying to do my best.”
Following the upcoming international friendlies, Brazil’s next call-up will be for the official World Cup squad. If Jesus continues to do so well for Arsenal, it’s hard to imagine him being left out.
