Gabriel Jesus has expressed frustration about his lack of minutes for Arsenal since returning from injury last month.
The Brazilian had been sidelined since the World Cup, making his long-awaited return to the Gunners fold as a substitute in the Premier League leaders' 3-0 win at Fulham three weeks ago.
Jesus then started the second leg of Arsenal's Europa League last 16 tie with Sporting Lisbon – which Mikel Arteta's side eventually lost on penalties – before again coming off the bench in the 4-1 league victory over Crystal Palace.
The 25-year-old started and bagged a brace as the Gunners beat Leeds 4-1 on Saturday to stay eight points clear of Manchester City in the title race – but he was substituted on the hour-mark at the Emirates Stadium.
And he seemed to have mixed feelings about his involvement during that game. Afterwards, Jesus told Arsenal's official website:
"I love challenges. Obviously, with an injury and when there’s surgery involved, it’s not easy, but if God gives me this challenge it’s because I can survive and come back stronger. I remember day one of rehab, working hard and thinking about the way to come back: 'If I don’t work hard, I’ll come back soft'.
"Obviously, every player wants to play the full 90 minutes, I think I’m ready to play more minutes. However, when the ref said to me I was going off, I was a little bit disappointed because I want to play, but of course I respect the manager and the other players as well. So, it was 60 minutes, but I enjoyed it a lot.”
Having scored his first goals since returning from injury, Jesus will be hoping to complete his first 90 minutes since mid-November when Arsenal travel to Liverpool next Sunday.
