Gabriel Jesus 'disappointed' with lack of Arsenal playing time since injury return

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.