Gabriel Jesus made his return from a knee injury for Arsenal in their 3-0 win over Club Brugge, with the Brazilian forward coming off the bench in the second half
William Saliba expressed his excitement to see Gabriel Jesus back in action, sending a supportive message to his team-mate on Instagram following his return from injury. Jesus made his much-anticipated comeback as a substitute in Arsenal's 3-0 Champions League triumph over Club Brugge on Wednesday night, after missing 11 games due to injury.
He played the final 28 minutes of the match and showed promise during his brief appearance in Belgium. Jesus is looking to secure more playing time in their upcoming Premier League home game against Wolves on Saturday.
"Everyone was expecting me to score and obviously, I wanted to score," he shared with Arsenal's official channels post-match. "I had some opportunities, but even with that, I'm so happy and so pleased, because to come back and then to have some touches that I had tonight, and then the way I could move, the way I could keep the ball.
"So with 11 months of helping myself and then feeling scared to come back different, maybe with some limitations, just to walk outside and then play with the boys, I'm so pleased. I feel more than ready. So, I'm here to say God saved my life."
On Instagram, Jesus posted a photo of himself kneeling, captioned: "Thank you, my God."
His Arsenal team-mates responded to the post, with Saliba leading the comments, writing: "R9 is back," a nod to Ronaldo Nazario.
The French defender is currently out of action due to an injury sustained in training, causing him to miss the Brugge match.
Mikel Merino chimed in with a supportive message: "Happy for you! Welcome back!".
Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber, Piero Hincapie, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Martin Odegaard, and Noni Madueke all expressed their reactions with emojis, while ex-Gunners skipper Granit Xhaka responded with a heart emoji.
In his press conference, Mikel Arteta spoke about Jesus' return, stating: "It's great to have him back in the squad: "So happy for him.
"I think you can see how much we all love him. It's been a very, very difficult and long journey.
"For 11 months, he's been battling another challenging injury, and to see him back with that smile, with that energy and with that quality in his first performance with us is something really impressive, and we're all delighted for him."