During an interview, Gabriel Jesus playfully teased his Arsenal teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko as the pair’s conversation was interrupted by the sound of an ambulance siren.
Arsenal has invested £200 million in the off-season to improve upon their second-place finish in the Premier League last season. However, their preparations for the new campaign have been hampered by injuries.
Declan Rice, the marquee £105 million summer signing, missed a pre-season match against Barcelona due to a calf problem and has been seen training with strapping on his leg.
Additionally, Folarin Balogun has suffered a foot injury, and Zinchenko is dealing with a muscular issue that has kept him from participating in any of Arsenal’s US tour games.
Manager Mikel Arteta commented on Zinchenko’s situation, expressing hope that he will return soon but acknowledging the unfortunate timing of his muscular problem during the tour.
Gabriel Jesus, who played alongside Zinchenko at Manchester City for five-and-a-half years before moving to Arsenal with the defender, couldn’t resist making a lighthearted joke at his teammate’s expense during the interview.
i thought jesus was badmind for this 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/YBUY5cbbMm
— @_ms300 (@_ms300) July 30, 2023
As seen in the above video, the pair were playing a game for theclub’s media teamwhere they each had to answer a question within five seconds. However, it was briefly interrupted by a nearby siren in the area.
After a few seconds of silence as the duo waited for the sound to drown out, Jesus tapped Zinchenko and joked, “Your taxi!” before bursting into laughter. Zinchenko too broke into a smile.
Of course, the left-back had mocked the Brazilian earlier in the interview. When asked to name three teams Jesus had scored against last season, Zinchenko replied: “Wolverhampton… that’s it.”
Jesus swiftly responded by pointing out Zinchenko’s lack of goals. He said: “He wants to joke! Don’t ask me this [for Zinchenko] because I only know one – Aston Villa! That’s it. A deflection.”
Zinchenko also explained how he was made to feel welcome after signing for the Gunners.
“It’s been a pleasure during all this time since I arrived,” he said. “I knew obviously Gabi and also Mikel [Arteta] and a couple of lads as well in the team. The adaptation was not too hard at all, the guys helped me a lot. The energy of the fans as well from the first game, so I felt something special and I felt really at home.”