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Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has sent a strong message of staying resilient and fearless as the race to the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, two of the club football's biggest prizes heads towards its conclusion, saying that his team cannot afford to be "scared and lose something which they do not have"
The ongoing season promises to bring plenty of silverware for the Gunners. They are at the top of the Premier League with 70 points, nine points ahead of the second-placed Manchester City. They also advanced to the Premier League quarterfinal by beating Leverkusen and are set to meet Sporting CP on April 8. Besides these two elite tournaments, they also have the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City scheduled this Sunday and the FA Cup quarterfinal against Southampton in April. If every plan and tactic falls in place for Arsenal, they could potentially complete a historic quadruple of trophies within a single season. However, Arsenal have had a really tough last three seasons, losing their grip over the Premier League crown towards the backend, registering three back-to-back runners-up finishes despite dominating the table for a big chunk of the tournament. Speaking to 'The Athletic' as quoted by Goal.com, Jesus pointed out how the team has gone from fighting for a qualification to UEFA CL to fighting for the most prestigious crown of European football and have a shot at the Premier League and other trophies as well. He also laid down his personal ambitions of "winning everything". "It is a process that you have to respect. We have gone from fighting hard to qualify for the Champions League to fighting for the title. We need to be happy about that. Our team is now more experienced, more mature. We can win the league this season and maybe another trophy as well. The Arsenal fans were probably going to say the Premier League because it has been more than 20 years. But they also never won the Champions League, so obviously, for them, it is a dream to win both. Me, I want to win everything, but if I have to choose, it is the Champions League," he said. Speaking of the times when he joined Arsenal in July 2022 with ambitions of winning big, a few people laughed at him and told him that "maybe he signed for the wrong club". "A few of them laughed," Jesus said, reflecting on his aspirations after joining the Gunners following a five-year stint with multi-time champions Manchester City. "They said: 'Ah, maybe you signed for the wrong club'. I asked them why. With the quality in our team, why could not we go and win the league?," he added. Jesus, 28, said that when a team has success, they become "scared of losing it", but Arsenal does not need to be afraid because they have yet to achieve that success. "When you have success, you can be scared of losing it," Jesus remarked. "We still do not have it, so we cannot be scared. We cannot lose something we do not have. We need to go out there, game by game, and try to win," he concluded. (ANI)
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