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Gabriel Jesus expresses delight after completing £45m Arsenal move

By on July 4, 2022

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Arsenal have officially announced the signing of Gabriel Jesus with the striker joining from Manchester City in a £45m deal.

Mikel Arteta has been searching the market for a new striker after Alexandre Lacazette left to re-join Lyon on a free transfer. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also joined Barcelona in January so Arsenal were low on forward options.

Gabriel has been touted as Arteta’s prime target all summer and after lengthy negotiations with City, a deal was finally agreed between the two clubs last weekend.

Fabrizio Romano is one of several sources to claim that Arsenal are paying £45m for Gabriel and the Brazilian was photographed meeting Edu in London before undergoing his medical last Tuesday.

Fans have been waiting patiently for an official announcement and Arsenal finally confirmed on Arsenal.com this morning that Gabriel has joined the club on a long-term contract.

After completing his move, Gabriel expressed his delight at joining “big club” Arsenal and revealed he used to follow us as a youngster due to his admiration of Thierry Henry.

He told Arsenal.com:

“I followed Arsenal when I was young because of [Thierry] Henry. Obviously I didn’t follow too many European teams but when I saw some of the players that played here, I was like “wow, this club is big.” When I played against Arsenal I was looking at the Emirates and it was a very good stadium, so I’m very excited to play here.

“I’m so happy to sign for this big club. Since day one when I knew I could come to play for Arsenal, I was happy. I know the staff, I know some players, the Brazilian ones. I know there are a lot of top players. They are young and I’m still young as well, so I am so happy to be here to help. I come to help, to learn as well and to try to do my best.”

The 25-year-old is a major coup for Arsenal as several other clubs were in the summing for his signature, including some who can offer Champions League football.

Gabriel wanted to join Arsenal in order to link-up with Arteta again as the pair know each other well from their time at City. The boss has also promised Gabriel he’ll be a focal point in the team, and regular first team football is important to the player ahead of the World Cup.

He wasn’t going to start regularly enough at Man City after they bought Erling Haaland, so with one year left on his contract Gabriel opted for a move and Arsenal have taken full advantage of the situation.

He should prove to be an excellent addition to the squad. Obviously he’s not the ‘prolific’ goalscorer that many fans expected us to sign this summer, but Gabriel still has a terrific goals/assists per 90 record in the Premier League.

He provided 13 goals and 12 assists last season, despite only starting 27 games across all competitions. Gabriel will no doubt play predominantly through the middle at Arsenal so he should get plenty of goal-scoring opportunities.

He’s also comfortable playing out wide and is one of the hardest working forwards in the league, so Gabriel should fit perfectly into Arteta’s system.

The South American becomes Arsenal’s fourth major signing of the summer following the arrivals of goalkeeper Matt Turner, winger Marquinhos and midfielder Fabio Vieira.