Here is why Arsenal should be optimistic of landing Gabriel Jesus this summer despite speculative interests from Tottenham and Milan

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Arsenal’s main priority this summer is signing a striker and Brazilian forward, Gabriel Jesus has been singled out as the perfect fit for the club.


Mikel Arteta is convinced that the Manchester City striker is the man, considering him the best pressing striker in the world having worked with him whilst serving as assistant to Pep Guardiola in Manchester.

The Arsenal boss is not the only manager that shares this insight of Jesus being the best pressing striker, Pep Guardiola and Brazil manager Tite have both also praised Gabriel Jesus the best pressing forward in the world.

Moreso, his intelligent movement on and off the ball, a trait which Mikel Arteta requires in a striker. His versatility is also an added advantage that could make Arteta approach games differently.

The arrival of Erlin Haaland and Julian Alvarez this summer means limited chances for the striker, who had not even been a mainstay in the City XI that is most times without a target man.

Prior to the end of the season when the reported interest from Arsenal surfaced, it was believed that Jesus will only consider moving to Arsenal if the club secured Champions League qualification.

In the end, Arsenal missed out on a top four finish and looking to take advantage of the situation, Tottheham Hotspur and AC Milan have now also registered interest in the 25-year-old.

However, the odds is still on favour of Arsenal to beat their competitors to the signature of their primary target this summer.

Why should Arsenal be confident of sealing a deal ?

Arsenal are the frontrunner in this race given they have a clear idea of what they want. Arteta is convinced Jesus is the man and looking at the current Arsenal setup, there seems not a better place than the Emirates for him to establish himself as one of the best around.

There is no competition for his place at the Emirates. Arsenal really struggled this season without a striker in form, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring four times in the league in 14 appearances before leaving for Barcelona in January.

Alexander Lacazette also managed only four league goals all season while it wasn't until the later stages of the campaign when Eddie Nketiah stepped up, but even with the 22-year-old imminently signing a new contract at the club, he can only be good enough to be a back up for the incoming striker.


Lacazette is expected to leave once his contract ends this summer and that leaves only Nketiah as a striker at the club, pending the arrival of a big name striker.

Personally, Edu has a good relationship with Jesus. The Arsenal’s technical director was general coordinator of the Brazil national team when Jesus was capped for the first time in September 2016.

Arsenal can remain optimistic of landing their man but will have to cough up around £50 million even though the player has just a year left on his current contract at the Ethiad.

For Jesus, he only wants to get regular football albeit remain in the spotlight ahead of the world cup later this year. He is a part of the Brazil first team but would like to be in the starting lineup and be considered the first choice striker.

To do that, he will need much more than the minutes he is getting under Pep Guardiola, which is now bound to be even more limited with the summer swoop of Haaland and Alvarez.

The former Palmeiras teenager is not only the striker linked with move to the Emirates. Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin is also on Arsenal's radar but after a season where he battled with injuries and poor form, it is considered a risky deal after all.

Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Gianluca Scamacca of Sassuolo have also been linked with the club. It's been reported that Scamacca prefers to remain in Italy while it will be very difficult to negotiate with Napoli for a player they signed for a club record fee from Lille two summers ago.

However, the club also prefers players with Premier League experience having seen the yield of their investment last summer. The addition of Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White and Martin Ødegaard birth great dividends, hence Mikel and Edu wants to keep the faith.

Gabriel Jesus remains the main striker target and the confidence is growing that a deal will be done sooner rather than later.


Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi

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