Gabriel Jesus, a recent purchase, made an immediate impact in his first Arsenal start, scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 friendly victory over Everton on Saturday in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jesus, a Brazilian attacker, scored two goals in a friendly match against Nuremberg as a substitute earlier this month. Jesus was acquired by Arsenal for for £45 million from Manchester City.
But it was his first start since joining Arsenal, where he was reunited with manager Mikel Arteta, who was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City before taking over at the Emirates Stadium. The match between the English Premier League rivals was played in front of 39,245 at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.
Martin Odegaard’s corner found him in the 33rd minute after sailing over a sea of bodies. Jesus smashed it into the roof of the net over a group of Everton players after one controlled touch.
Bukayo Saka increased the scoring three minutes later by converting at the far post.
Both teams made significant adjustments at halftime, with Everton under Frank Lampard fielding an altogether different starting lineup.
However, the adjustments failed to ignite anything, and the Toffees barely posed a danger to newly-arrived New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner of Arsenal.
Salomon Rondon attempted to catch Turner out of goal from a distance, but the American was able to rush back and parry the ball, making it one of his best saves.
Everton’s next match is against Minnesota United of the MLS in Minneapolis as both teams continue their early preparation for the start of the Premier League season on August 5.
In Florida, Arsenal will compete against Premier League rivals Chelsea and MLS team Orlando City.
