Jesus out to reclaim Brazil's No. 9 jersey ahead of World Cup

It's one of the biggest honors in soccer: Playing as the center forward for Brazil at a World Cup.

Gabriel Jesus knows all about that, having been handed the No. 9 jersey at the 2018 tournament in Russia and — as every Brazilian is acutely aware — failing to score a goal.

Will he get a second chance?

As it stands, Jesus is way down the pecking order of forwards for Brazil. Indeed, if it wasn't for the fact that national teams will be able to call up 26 players — rather than 23 — for the World Cup in Qatar, Jesus might be struggling to make the squad.

An offseason move to Arsenal from Manchester City, however, appears to have revitalized his career, especially after moving back to playing as an out-and-out striker rather than a winger, the role City manager Pep Guardiola preferred Jesus to have because of his energy and work rate.

Jesus was a revelation for Arsenal in the preseason and he has taken that strong form into the Premier League, scoring twice and having a hand in the team's other two goals in a 4-2 win over Leicester on Saturday.

“He’s feeling disappointed in that dressing room because he said he could have scored four,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “That’s the standard, that’s the mentality you want. To go to a different level, you need that mentality. He lifts the standards.”

So, can Jesus regain his spot as Brazil's first-choice center forward? He is currently behind Richarlison, who also moved clubs in the offseason to join Tottenham from Everton, and Atletico Madrid striker Matheus Cunha. Other options are Roberto Firmino of Liverpool and a home-based player, Flamengo’s Pedro, who Brazil coach Tite believes has the skillset to be a lone striker.

Tite has plenty of options out wide in Vinícius Júnior,