Arsenal signing Gabriel Jesus was seen as one of those rare things: a great deal for all parties. The Gunners got the striker that they so desperately needed; Jesus stepped out of the shadow of incoming Erling Haaland. He didn’t cost too much; yet City made a profit on him.
The plan was clear, too. Jesus insisted that he’s a centre-forward and not the winger he was at Manchester City. And for a while, it seemed to be working: five goals in his first nine won over a lot of doubters before he scored four in five back from a knee injury last term. But Arsenal’sinfamous No.9 curse seems to have struck again.
Less than two years after being hailed as the savour, Jesus has seen his place in the Arsenal side taken by Kai Havertz, amid rumours of an even bigger striker joining in the summer. What now?
Gabriel Jesus has already shown Arsenal fans his best role this season
Jesus has always gotten the best out of others (Image credit: Getty Images)
When Jesus joined Arsenal, the differences between himself and Haaland were clear. The Scandi robot is the archetypal poacher, with deadly movement and instinctive finishing. That’s not Jesus – but neither is that a bad thing.
The Brazilian’s emergence at Arsenal enabled countryman Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard to all hit 15 league goals in a season: even Granit Xhaka started contributing higher up the pitch, as the Gunners smashed their record for goals in a Premier League campaign. That’s what Jesus offers with his selflessness and his off-ball runs. He will never be a clinical finisher… but he can help others to be.
Even when he was at City, he was best in a side in which Guardiola used false nines. Ilkay Gundogan flourished alongside Jesus, just as Xhaka later did. When he was the focal point between Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling, the wide men were the stars. Very few frontlines can be Messi-Suarez-Neymar or Mane-Salah-Firmino, after all: in most sides, you need a Pedro or a Benzema doing the leg work. That’s what Jesus always offered.
And perhaps more importantly, he’s a big game player. Arsenal have few of those. When others froze in the Emirates Stadium lights against Bayern Munich, Jesus stepped up to assist the equaliser. He has consistently delivered on the biggest stages for City, too: there’s a reason he was given the vice-captaincy by Arteta when he joined.
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
Jesus won’t like it – but his perfect role is staring Mikel Arteta in the face
It’s clear how Arteta needs to use Jesus (Image credit: Getty Images)
Jesus joined Arsenal to finally fulfil what he believed his destiny was: to become an elite striker. With the Gunners looking for another one, perhaps they disagree that he’ll ever be what they’re looking for.
But such versatility and a knack for making other players better never goes a miss. Jesus is a backup right-winger to Bukayo Saka, as proven against City this season. He’s an impact option in Champions League games. He’s a partner for Kai Havertz to break down deep blocks. He’s a width-holder on the left if he’s needed to win fouls and toil for someone else centrally. He can still be a centre-forward, too.
That might seem like a bit of a downgrade for what he signed up for – but he’s so much more important than just doing those things: that Jesus can do all of them, to a high standard, and in the biggest games, is absolutely priceless. He’s several players in one, which in a small squad, is huge. Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal had Sylvain Wiltord to plug gaps in the frontline and step up for these tasks. Jurgen Klopp has had Diogo Jota for similar tasks, while Pep Guardiola had, well, Jesus for the job until last summer.
There are plenty of players that Arteta doesn’t seem to trust in big moments, but Jesus isn’t one. He may never start 50 games a season for Arsenal as the first name on the team-sheet up top – but his value is so much more intrinsic to the team. Gooners can only hope that the Brazilian would be prepared for a season more of selflessness.
by 
