Arsenal are confident of signing Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus, according to The Sun.
The Gunners fell short of Champions League qualification last term as they lacked the cutting edge in the final third of the pitch. It is likely to be addressed with the purchase of a new striker.
Jesus has been identified as their prime transfer target, and The Sun reports that Arsenal could step up their pursuit following Brazil’s international friendly against Japan on Monday.
The 25-year-old is about to enter the final year of his City contract, and looks set to move on as the arrivals of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez will drop him down the pecking order.
The Gunners believe a fee of around £40 million would be sufficient to land the Palmeiras graduate, who has a good relationship with manager Mikel Arteta and technical director Edu Gaspar.
Our view:
Arsenal have been in regular contact with Jesus’ representative through Edu. The same has been formally confirmed by his agent, but there are also several other clubs in the running to sign him.
The Gunners have not qualified for the Champions League, but they could still have an advantage over the likes of Juventus as Jesus could be tempted to prolong his career in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Jesus also has a good relationship with Arteta, who was previously City’s assistant manager. The Spaniard was heavily involved in improving his gameplay in one-on-one situations.
Jesus ended last season on a high with 13 goals and 12 assists from 41 outings. He managed the tally while playing just 62 minutes per game. His statistics could improve with more game time.
He appears perfectly suited for Arteta with his good hold-up play and ability to drop into deeper attacking positions. He works hard defensively and can also play on the right wing when required.
Like Alexandre Lacazette, he is not the tallest of forwards at 175cm, but the Brazilian makes up for it with his better goalscoring prowess and distribution. He would be a perfect upgrade on the outgoing striker.
