The brilliance of Gabriel Jesus: Arsenal's talisman who has taken them to a new level

The two-week international break provided Gabriel Jesus with plenty of time to stew. The Arsenal striker was a surprise omission from the latest Brazil squad, the last before the World Cup in Qatar, and he will not have been particularly happy about it.

According to Mikel Arteta, his manager, Jesus reacted to the international snub in an “incredibly humble” way. As soon as this north London derby began, though, there was nothing but aggression and intensity in the response of Arsenal’s number nine, who has done more than anyone to propel this team to the top of the Premier League table.

The Brazilian’s latest goal, his fifth of the season already, was his most eye-catching contribution to this 3-1 victory over Arsenal’s oldest rivals. But it does not begin to tell the story of his all-round performance, and at the final whistle, it said it all when Arteta enveloped an exhausted Jesus in an emphatic bear-hug.

On the evidence of his limp, and indeed the drained look upon his face, Jesus might well have wanted Arteta to carry him off the pitch and back into the dressing room. Bruised, kicked, elbowed and shoved throughout, but victorious at the end. As a message to Tite, the Brazil manager, this could not have been more clear.

For all the changes at Arsenal this season — from Granit Xhaka’s surprise emergence as an elite box-to-box midfielder, to William Saliba’s extraordinary composure in defence — no player has had a more transformative effect than the former Manchester City forward in the attack.

It is Jesus who sets the tone for this Arsenal team, Jesus who leads the way with the ball and without it. The intensity of his pressing, the relentlessness of his running, the movement in the penalty box: it all points to a genuinely top-class centre-forward, whether Brazil recognise it or not, and there can be no doubt that the goals will continue to flow this season.

“That is how sharp he is, how lively he is,” said Arteta. “His winning mentality, the way he trains every day, the confidence he brings to the team. He has taken us to a different level.”

It should not be forgotten that Tottenham Hotspur were interested in signing Jesus this summer. Other leading clubs in Europe were also keen. But Arsenal made their pitch early, and they promised the 25-year-old that he would be their man — their focal point — this season and for the seasons to come.

The pitch was compelling and no party will be regretting their decision. To look at Jesus in the aftermath of his second-half goal, when he turned to the home crowd with his arms outstretched and his face a picture of self-belief, was to see a man who is thriving in his new surroundings.

“I want to score in every game and the way the team played, from the first minute, showed how we wanted to play,” he said. “We deserved to win, I don’t know how many chances we created. I am feeling at home here, because of the guys, the staff, the club. I am really happy here.”

His sheer competitiveness is perhaps his most striking quality. Jesus is not a big man but he is a fighter, and he looks for contact wherever possible. He engaged in 15 duels with his opponents at the Emirates Stadium, more than any other player on the pitch, and also won and conceded more fouls than anyone else.

As for the technical skill and general menace on the ball, it almost goes without saying that he is a significant upgrade on Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, last season’s strikers. At one point in the first half, Jesus chopped inside Cristian Romero, ripping the Spurs defender from the game, and then did the same to Emerson Royal immediately afterwards.

He might have won a penalty, too, after fooling a pair of Spurs defenders with a series of stepovers and feints. The goal he did score was a predator’s strike, leaping on the chance given to him by Hugo Lloris, who spilled the ball in his own six-yard box.

The only criticism to be made against Jesus is that he should have scored again a few minutes later, instead of heading wide at the back post. If he addresses his occasional wastefulness in front of goal, he will be an even more formidable force. It is not unreasonable to suggest he could have scored 10 goals this season, instead of five so far.

The north London derby provides the toughest of mental tests and it is no coincidence that only one of the last 24 meetings between these teams have been won by the away side. The pressure gets to the away players, especially when the home team is playing with such intensity.

Lloris could not handle it on this occasion, evidently. Neither could Royal, whose foul on Gabriel Martinelli and subsequent red card effectively killed the afternoon for Spurs. Arsenal pressed them and rattled them, eventually prompting those mistakes that proved so costly, and no player did more damage than the irrepressible Jesus.