England and Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi has named a surprise Arsenal player as his ‘toughest opponent’.
Since leaving Stamford Bridge to join Palace in July 2021, Guehi has gone on to establish himself as one of the most consistent centre-backs in the Premier League.
Such form also saw Guehi become a staple of Gareth Southgate’s England side in the latter years of his tenure in charge of the Three Lions.
To date, the 24-year-old has accrued 22 caps for England and started alongside John Stones in England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in last summer’s Euro 2024 final.
Such a career has seen Guehi come up against many of the world’s best attackers, but there was perhaps some surprise when the Englishman named Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus as the the player who gave him the ‘toughest half’ of his career.
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‘There have been many, many players. I always recall when Jesus had just signed for Arsenal, we played them first game of the season,’ the Palace defender told Staium Astro.
‘That first half was probably the toughest half I’ve ever had, he was amazing that half. So just for that reason I would say Jesus.’
Jesus won four league titles with Manchester City but has often blown hot and cold during his time at the Emirates.
The Brazillian, however, did enjoy an impressive purple patch over the most recent festive period which saw him score a Carabao Cup hat-trick against Guehi’s side before netting twice against the same opposition in the league three days later.
And it was those performances which led Guehi’s defensive partner at Palace, Maxence Lacroix, to name Jesus as the toughest opponent he, too, had come up against.
‘The most difficult player I’ve played against is Gabriel Jesus, he scored a lot against us,’ he told talkSPORT earlier this month. ‘It was difficult because he has good movement.
‘I like to play against Haaland because he’s strong, we know it’s going to be a fight. I don’t like when players run a lot.’
Despite his uptick in performances over December and the New Year, Jesus now faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines having suffered a season-ending ACL injury in last month’s FA Cup clash against Manchester United.
That injury, combined with Kai Havertz’s subsequent hamstring injury, has left Mikel Arteta’s side desperately short of strikers and forced to deploy Mikel Merino as a makeshift centre forward in recent games.
The Brazillian international is under contract at Arsenal until the summer of 2027 and was facing speculation over his long-term future in north London.
However, the serious nature of his latest injury means that Arsenal have been forced to shelve plans to sell Jesus in the summer as they look to raise funds to sign a much-needed striker when the transfer window reopens.
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