ARSENAL did not feel the pressure of City briefly cutting the gap before kick-off at the Emirates as Jesus marked his first league start since November with a double as the league leaders beat Leeds United 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Bukayo Saka was handed a rare rest by Mikel Arteta and Jesus took responsibility from the penalty spot in his absence to open the scoring 10 minutes before half-time.
Jesus was sidelined for three months after picking up a knee injury at the World Cup but the former City forward’s return for the run-in could deny his old club a fifth title in six years.The Brazilian fired home his second goal of the game after Ben White doubled Arsenal’s lead early in the second half.
“He’s been working so hard the last four or five months with a lot of support obviously from the team and the staff,” said Arteta on Jesus’ impact. “Today he deserved the chance to start and he grabbed the opportunity with a lot of conviction and scored two very important goals.”
Rasmus Kristensen pulled a goal back for Leeds, but Granit Xhaka rounded off the scoring as Arsenal made it seven consecutive league wins for the first time under Arteta.
