"R9 is back" - William Saliba sends message to Arsenal teammate as latter returns from long injury absence

Port Vale v Arsenal - Carabao Cup Third Round - Source: Getty
Port Vale v Arsenal - Carabao Cup Third Round - Source: Getty

Arsenal defender William Saliba dropped a three-word message to express his excitement at seeing teammate Gabriel Jesus back in action.

Ad

The Brazilian striker featured as a substitute in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Club Brugge on Wednesday. It was Jesus’ first appearance for the Gunners since January after suffering an ACL injury that had kept him out for a lengthy period.

He looked bright in his cameo in Belgium, hitting the crossbar and forcing two saves from the goalkeeper despite playing just 28 minutes of football.

After the match, Jesus posted a picture of himself kneeling on Instagram, along with the caption:

Ad
“Thank you, God. 🙏🏾❤️Psalms 37:3-5.”
Ad

The post received several comments from his Arsenal teammates, with Saliba’s comments taking the lead. He wrote:

“R9 is back,” a reference to Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario.
William Saliba's comments
William Saliba's comments

In his press conference, Arteta spoke about Jesus’ return, saying:

Ad
“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 fighting against another very difficult 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.”
Ad

Gabriel Jesus admits he’s ‘so happy’ after making Arsenal return

Gabriel Jesus couldn’t hide his excitement after returning from his lengthy injury layoff during Arsenal’s victory over Club Brugge. He expressed gratitude to God and credited his recovery to his faith. He told reporters:

“First of all, I want to say thank you to God. If it was not for God, I'm 100% sure I would not be here with this mentality, with this health, with this belief. In the first three months, I had a lot of doubts in my head, and then I could be more focused on what God wants from me.”
Ad
“Everyone was expecting me to score,” he smiled, "and obviously, I wanted to score. 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.”

Gabriel Jesus joined Arsenal from Manchester City in 2022. To date, he has scored 26 goals and provided 20 assists in 97 appearances for the Gunners.

Quick Links

Edited by Ezekiel Olamide
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
down arrow icon
More
bell-icon Manage notifications