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| Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City in action during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at Etihad Stadium on May 22, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. |
Arsenal have reached an agreement to sign Gabriel
Jesus for £45m.
The Manchester
City star was looking set to leave the Etihad this summer amid
mounting competition for places following the arrivals of Erling
Haaland and Julian Alvarez. Arsenal are seeking
to add more firepower at the Emirates and Mikel Arteta knows Jesus well from
their time together.
A £45m deal has been struck with the Gunners fending
off interest from fellow London clubs Chelsea and Tottenham.
The finer details still need to be finalised by the Brazilian is edging closer
to a move to north London.
Jesus will leave Manchester five years after he
signed for £27m, meaning the Premier
League champions will make a notable profit. The forward has
continued to come up with important goals, netting the winner at Stamford
Bridge last season, but nailing down a regular spot has been an issue under Pep
Guardiola.
He largely played second fiddle to Sergio Aguero in
the past and now, with Haaland arriving, opportunities could again be few and
far between. A move to Arsenal however is likely to see Jesus be the main man.
The Gunners recently waved goodbye to Alexandre Lacazette, who left for nothing
once his contract expired whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also left back in
January. It leaves the Arteta light in attack, despite Eddie Nketiah penning a
new deal.
Nketiah recently underlined the need for more
quality and competition for places as the club look to push on. He told The Daily
Telegraph, Nketiah said: “Every team needs a squad to compete. The
club is always looking for ways to strengthen. They have extended my deal and
they have done so for a reason. Whoever comes in, you relish the challenge. You
make them feel welcome, and then you fight and compete.”
Jesus could make his bow for Arsenal in the Premier
League as they begin their season against Crystal
Palace. The Gunners are looking to return to the top four after a
near miss last term.
Arsenal have also completed the signing of
highly-rated Portuguese star Fabio Vieira this week. The midfielder moved from
Porto for just over £30m after performing impressively in the Primeira Liga –
coming up with 20 goal involvements.
Arteta said on the signing: ”I am very excited that
we have identified and signed such a special talent. Fabio is a very creative
player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play. We
welcome Fabio and his family to our club and are looking forward to starting
work with him ahead of the new season.”
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