Mikel Arteta expects Victor Jacques to have a major impact on Arsenal’s bid for a fourth successive title after the rejuvenated striker’s recent goal-scoring spree.
Joe Kreis has endured a disappointing spell since joining Arsenal from Sporting Lisbon before this season.
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But the Swedish star has already scored eight goals in all competitions in 2026, following a brace in last weekend’s 4-1 win over arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Joe Kreis has scored 10 goals in the league this season, already scoring more goals than any Arsenal player in the top flight last season.
Joe Kreis is in excellent form and Arsenal are top of the Premier League and competitive in the other three games.
Arteta believes the 27-year-old can make further progress as he learns the Premier League and adapts to his Arsenal teammates.
“I think one thing leads to another. When you score your first goal or perform well, you have more time with your teammates and you understand the game, the opponents and the league better. Everything helps,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
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“We know his qualities. He is certainly an unbelievable striker. We need to improve his qualities, we need to know him better, he needs to know the team, the league better and I think we are on the right track.”
Asked if Jacques struggled with confidence earlier this season, Arteta added: “It was a problem for him. Obviously I know the demands he places on himself and the expectations he has to help the team.
“I’m confident because a lot of times, our guards are training with our guys and you ask, ‘How do you feel facing him?’ and they say, ‘This is a nightmare.'”
Arsenal host London rivals Chelsea on Sunday as they look to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table.
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If City beat Leeds on Saturday, they can temporarily close the gap to two points.
The Gunners recently beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup semi-finals, but Arteta insists that will have no impact on this weekend’s clash.
“Chelsea did different things when they faced us. They could make changes throughout the game. Their coach and players are willing to do that. We will prepare and try to be better than them,” he said.
“There’s nothing we can do. It doesn’t matter what we did two weeks ago or two years ago.”
In addition to competing for the Premier League title, Arsenal also advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League, the League Cup final against Manchester City and the fifth round of the FA Cup.
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Friday’s Champions League draw pits the Gunners against German side Bayer Leverkusen.
“We’re delighted to be in the next round, we’ve earned the right to play here with our performance in the group stages,” Arteta said.
“But we now need to start analyzing them and find ways to be better than them to get to the next round.”
mg/MW
