Gabriel Jesus made a successful return to football after scoring in Arsenal’s 2-1 pre-season victory over Manchester United and is looking forward to playing regular games again.

The forward made 36 appearances last season for the Gunners and was forced to deal with a recurring knee injury that often kept him glued to the sidelines. His lack of time on the pitch subsequently saw him miss out on a spot in Brazil’s Copa America squad – while teammates Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes made the shortlist.

He instead spent his summer training in preparation for Arsenal’s pre-season tour of the United States. Jesus started in attack alongside Leandro Trossard and Reiss Nelson in the Gunners’ clash with United – scoring in the first half to bring both sides level.

“My last pre-season was not good because I was feeling my knee,” he said after the victory. “I had to have surgery and missed all of the pre-season. So, I was trying to force it during that pre-season, but at the end I couldn’t and had surgery.

Jesus brought the scoreline level / Ronald Martinez/GettyImages

“That was a little bit difficult after to come back, but this season is different. I could enjoy my holidays and then I trained a lot, and I was focused to come back well and do a good pre-season. Now I’m in different shape and can play football again.”

Rasmus Hojlund opened up the scoreline for the Red Devils, firing his team ahead in the 10th minute. Just minutes later, he was substituted off the pitch after picking up an injury, while Hannibal Mejbri came on in his place.

Speaking on the comeback win, Jesus added: “It’s always difficult when you concede first. We came back and won the game, so that’s the most important thing. It shows that our team tried to win in any contest. Everyone deserved [to win], I think we deserved the win, and it was a good performance from the team.

“It’s a derby, it’s a difficult game, it’s a Premier League game, they have a lot of quality and it’s tough. At the end, we won, that’s the most important thing. Obviously, we are preparing for the season, so I think everyone is happy.”

Arsenal will face Liverpool on Thursday in their final US clash. They will then return to the Emirates to host Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen before looking ahead to the new Premier League season.