Arsenal have officially confirmed their fourth signing of the summer after securing the services of Manchester City forward, Gabriel Jesus.
The announcement comes following weeks of speculation, twists and turns, but in the end Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have worked tirelessly to tie down their number one target.
As reported by multiple senior journalists, Arsenal will pay a £45m fee for the Brazilian, who will pocket around £190k per week making him one of the Gunners highest earners.
As covered on Fresh Arsenal this week, the 25-year-old completed his medical at London Colney last Tuesday morning, which was then followed by an afternoon of media duties.
It comes as a huge breath of fresh air and sigh of relief at the same time, with Arsenal desperately in search of a new front man following the recent departures of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Lacazette.
Arsenal set out their plan with a clear shopping list of options to join Eddie Nketiah up top, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Tammy Abraham, but Jesus was always top of the pile.
Once initial talks were sounded out with his representatives, the project was explained to him by Mikel Arteta, someone who has worked with Jesus at City in his previous days as an assistant coach.
It’s believed that Jesus wanted to be assured of regular game time coupled with the chance to fight for Champions League qualification, something that could make or break Arteta’s 2022/23 campaign.
But since his arrival in the Premier League five years ago, Jesus has always been a man cast in the shadow of other superstars at City, originally signed to emulate Sergio Aguero’s fine form up top and be the long-term replacement following his departure in 2021.
His eight goals and nine assists in the Premier League last season don’t sound like much, but when you consider the majority of his appearances came from the bench, you start to wonder what this guy is capable of when handed the regular responsibility of leading the line.
And with an opportunity to switch Manchester for London AND become a star man in a team with big ambitions, the forward didn’t need much more convincing.
Where the politics did come into this negotiation is which club in London he would be playing for, with Chelsea and Tottenham both battling for his signature.
However, the tag team of Edu and Arteta are believed to have played a huge part in Jesus’ move to the Emirates, which will see him take the number 9 shirt in the process.
With a World Cup on the horizon and Jesus desperate to fight off the likes of Raphinha and Richarlison for a starting spot, plenty of game time in the Premier League and Europa League will only act as an incentive to put in the performances Arsenal fans want to see.
Jesus is now expected to link up with his new teammates at London Colney next week as the squad prepare for their first pre-season game away to FC Nurnberg on Friday 8th July.