Gabriel Jesus, Piers Morgan react to Arsenal’s draw at Southampton

Gabriel Jesus admitted that “everyone was upset” after Arsenal were pegged back and held to a 1-1 draw by Southampton on Sunday – and warned the Gunners they must “wake up” in the coming games.

The Gunners had taken the lead at St Mary’s thanks to Granit Xhaka’s second goal in as many games – but Southampton levelled in the 65th minute when Stuart Armstrong fired home to earn a point for the hosts.

With Manchester City having beaten Brighton 3-1 on Saturday, Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League table has been cut down to two points.

Summer signing Gabriel Jesus – who played the full 90 minutes at St Mary’s on Sunday – revealed that he and his team-mates were left disappointed by the draw, but he issued a rallying cry as the Gunners look to bounce back to winning ways in the Premier League when they take on Nottingham Forest at The Emirates on Sunday.

“I’m disappointed, we’re all upset with the result today because we know our quality, we know we could win the game today the way we played,” Gabriel Jesus told Premier League Productions, as quoted by Metro. “Of course, we dropped a little bit of our level, we have to come back because this league is tough, it’s difficult.

Gabriel Jesus (Photo: Arsenal / YouTube / Screengrab)

“Everyone is upset, now it’s the difficult time I think, the difficult time is coming so everyone has to be alert, focus more, we have six or seven games before we stop before the World Cup, so we need to come back, relax tomorrow but come back strong because that’s football, sometimes you drop a little bit but you have to realise and wake up, that’s what we have to do now.”

Meanwhile, celebrity Arsenal fan Piers Morgan – who has been vocally backing Gunners boss Arteta this season – took to social media after Sunday’s game to issue a short but upbeat reaction to the result.

Posting a screenshot of the Premier League table after full-time, former Daily Mirror editor Morgan wrote on Twitter: “Still top of the League.”

After a flying start to life at The Emirates, Gabriel Jesus has now gone five games without a goal for the north London side.

The Brazilian – who joined from Manchester City in the summer transfer window – has netted five goals and made three assists in 11 Premier League games, but he has not scored since the 3-1 win over Tottenham at The Emirates at the start of the month.

Arsenal boss Arteta admitted that the Brazil international will have been disappointed not to have found the net for the north Londoners on the south coast on Sunday – but he is backing him to bounce back in the coming games as the Gunners look to keep their spot at the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta (Photo: Arsenal Media)

“I’m sure that today he will be disappointed because he had the chances to put them away,” Arteta told his post-match news conference when asked about Gabriel Jesus’ performance. “Knowing Gabby, he’s disappointed when he scores two goals and could have scored three or four, so he can do that. But he’s having the chances and he’s always there. He gives so much to the team and it’s a shame he couldn’t put them away today.”

Arsenal will travel to PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League on Thursday night before their clash with Nottingham Forest at The Emirates on Sunday in the top flight.

The Gunners could find themselves second in the table by the time they kick off against Forest, with second-placed Manchester City able to claim top spot if they win away at Leicester City on Saturday.