Arsenal have reached an agreement with Manchester City to sign Gabriel Jesus, The Athletic reports.
The Gunners had identified the Brazil international as their top striker target two months ago, and they have now finalised a suitable deal with City.
According to The Athletic, Arsenal will pay a £45 million fee for the 25-year-old, who was also on the radar of Chelsea and Tottenham this summer.
He is set to become the Gunners’ fourth summer acquisition after Marquinhos, Matt Turner and Fabio Vieira.
Our view:
Arsenal lacked a regular goalscoring striker last season. Only Eddie Nketiah found consistency, but it was too late. He only became a regular from mid-April.
This cost a Champions League spot for the 2022/23 campaign. The signing of Jesus should address the concern, considering his quality contributions at City.
Jesus bagged 13 goals and 12 assists from 42 outings last term, but was limited to just 62 minutes per appearance. He should fare better with more minutes.
With Jesus just entering the prime of his career, the deal represents good business for Arsenal. Manager Mikel Arteta will be aiming to get the best out of him.
The Spanish tactician knows him well from their time together at City between 2016 and 2019 where he was an assistant manager. He was heavily involved in training.
Arteta played a key role in improving the awareness of Jesus and Raheem Sterling in one-on-one scenarios, and he should be delighted with a reunion with the former.
The arrival of Jesus will mean that Arsenal have spent over £85m in the transfer market this summer, having already finalised transfer deals amounting to £40.3m.
It is certainly a big statement from the club’s owners, who are prepared to back the manager after a promising 2021/22 season that saw them almost finish in the top four.
The failure to sign a new striker in January proved costly. Arsenal appear keen on completing their transfer business early this summer to avoid missing out on top targets.
