With five wins on the bounce, Arsenal are flying again.
After a dodgy festive period in which it looked like they would entirely fall away, Mikel Arteta has got his side firing on all cylinders and firmly back in this season's Premier League title race.
Competition
Opponent
Result
Premier League
Crystal Palace
5-0 Win
Premier League
Nottingham Forest
2-1 Win
Premier League
Liverpool
3-1 Win
Premier League
West Ham United
6-0 Win
Premier League
Burnley
5-0 Win
The Gunners have won their last five games by a margin of 21-2 and, in the process, have claimed the best goal difference in the league.
While Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard deserve the praise they're receiving for their effectiveness in recent games, another forward also deserves some recognition, a striker whose value has increased impressively since joining the club.
Gabriel Jesus's pre-Arsenal valuation
The player in question is none other than former Manchester City ace Gabriel Jesus, who joined the Gunners in summer 2022.
Now, before the Brazilian donned the red and white of Arsenal, he enjoyed quite a meteoric rise from an undiscovered gem in Brazil to a multiple league winner in Manchester.
He made his debut for Palmeiras in 2014, and after making 63 appearances for the side, in which he scored 24 goals and provided seven assists, he earned a £27m move to the Etihad.
An injury-disrupted first season in England led to him making just 11 appearances in all competitions for Pep Guardiola's sides. Still, the promising forward scored seven goals and provided five assists in those games, so it was a successful start to life in the northwest.
The "generous" forward, as described by Guardiola, left City as a consistent, if not spectacular, goalscorer for the side, with 95 goals and 46 assists to his name in 236 appearances.
However, the tendency for him to start wide in his final two campaigns at the club and the introduction of Erling Haaland spelt the end for his time in Sky Blue, so he secured a £45m transfer to Arsenal.
Gabriel Jesus' Valuation at Arsenal
Once in north London, it didn't take long for Jesus to show the Emirates just how good he was, as in just his second competitive appearance for the club, he scored a brace and provided two assists in the same game to help sink Leicester City 4-2 in the Premier League.
The good times kept coming for the "unreal" dynamo, as dubbed by pundit Rio Ferdinand, as he would score five goals and provide seven assists before the winter break for the World Cup, where he would unfortunately injure his knee.
That injury would see him miss 99 days of football and 17 games for club and country, but he still finished the season with a respectable tally of 11 goals and eight assists.
This year, the 5 foot 9 machine has scored eight goals and provided five assists in 23 games, but just like last year, he has been unlucky with injuries, missing 13 games and counting through knee and hamstring problems.
The former City ace might not have been quite as prolific as Arteta would've wished, but he has still been dazzling at times, and the good news is that his value has not decreased at all; in fact, it's increased in the last year and a half.
Gabriel Jesus' time at Arsenal
Appearances
59
Goals
19
Assists
13
Goal Involvements per Match
0.54
All Stats via Transfermarkt
According to the CIES Football Observatory, the 64-capped international is now worth around €80m, which is about £68m, or £23m more than the Gunners paid for his services.
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Ultimately, it would be hard to look at his move as anything other than a success at this point, even if his goal return is lower than some fans might've hoped for, and with half a season still to go, he could prove crucial as the title race heats up.