Gab will have to show he is the main man at the Gunners
GABRIEL Jesus isn’t the first City attacker looking to leave in search of more playing time, and he won’t be the last. In fact, there are suggestions Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva could also go this summer.
It’s fair to say the Brazilian is probably a level above Arsenal who have reportedly agreed a £45m deal with the Blues for the player – and could lead the line for any top side if given the opportunity.
However, after failing to hold down a regular place in City’s team in recent years then maybe the Emirates is a perfect place for him to back up his confidence in his abilities.
Under Mikel Arteta - a coach he’s previously worked well with at the Blues and praised for developing his game - Jesus can get starts every week and show City he should have been deserving of them.
That’s not to say he wasn’t underused at the Etihad, because the nature of Pep Guardiola’s squad is one of rotation, but at Arsenal he could at least feel assured of starts in all the big games and regularly in Europe.
“If you ask the players, everyone wants to play,” he said in April, addressing reports he wanted to leave due to a lack of games. “Since I arrived here I play a lot, I know what I expect but I know we have very good players who can play every game. “Not just me, Riyad [Mahrez], Raz [Sterling], Grealish who sees how it is here.
“We have a lot of good strikers and winger, everyone wants to play and that’s the challenge to keep focussed and when you get an opportunity to try to do your best. “I’ll play as a straight [central] player, I can go there, upfront, run everywhere and try to fight, regain the ball, attack. “I think this is my quality. I play on the streets until I was 15, arrive at Palmeiras at 15. “I learn a lot from that, there I play like this. Sometimes I put videos on, I’m running everywhere and that’s my quality.
“I’m happy because I have the confidence from the manager and from the players. When I start, Riyad
It’s telling City are happy for Jesus to leave rather than encouraging him to fight for his place
starts, Raz, Phil, Grealish, Bernardo upfront, Gundo. We try our best. We have the experience, I’m still young but the last five-to-six years I play a little bit tough in big games.”
It’s the balance that City often get right, although it’s equally fair to expect ambitious players on the fringes for the big games to look elsewhere if they want to progress.
Look at Leroy Sane, who had his own personal reasons for leaving City and joined Bayern Munich to further his own career.
Sane and Jesus’ situations were relatively similar, with the competition on the wings an obstacle to their personal ambitions, with opportunities elsewhere to play every week and strengthen their international prospects too.
Except Sane hasn’t always experienced much greener grass away from the Etihad. He’s won trophies with Bayern Munich, and maintained a similar goals or assists ratio to his time at City, but he’s also had difficult spells trying to prove himself as a key player who steps up at the big moments.
Because that is the test for players looking to prove Guardiola wrong if they aren’t getting minutes in the bigger games at City - to go and show you can influence those career-defining games when you get the chance.
It’s telling they are happy for Jesus to leave, especially with two strikers coming in, rather than encouraging him to fight for his place.
He will have to back his move up with goals for Arsenal, whether it’s through the middle or on the wing. The crowd there are far less forgiving than City’s so he will need thick skin and a belief in himself. To make his move a success, he’ll want to help Arsenal back into the Champions League sooner rather than later, and improve their record in the ‘Big Six’ games.
It’s not beyond him to make that change to the main man. Maybe he should look at Sane’s slow start at Bayern for tips.