Steve McManaman: Brazilian attacker could be the ‘star man’ at Arsenal
Steve McManaman explains why he thinks that a move to Arsenal for Gabriel Jesus makes sense for all parties
Steve McManaman believes that Gabriel Jesus would be an excellent signing for Arsenal in the summer transfer window as Mikel Arteta looks to bolster his attacking options at The Emirates.
The north London side have been heavily linked with a move to sign the Brazilian attacker from Manchester City this summer following the Citizens’ deal to land Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Gabriel Jesus, 25, is being linked with a move away from Manchester City in search of regular playing time after he was limited to 21 appearances from the start in the Premier League last season.
Despite his limited playing time, Gabriel Jesus still managed to net eight goals and make eight assists in 28 Premier League games last term as City successfully defended their title.
Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano recently revealed that Arsenal are still in talks to get a deal over the line to bring Gabriel Jesus to The Emirates this summer.
Now, former Liverpool FC and Real Madrid star McManaman has explained why he thinks that Gabriel Jesus would be an excellent signing for the Gunners this summer, especially considering that the north Londoners already have a number of Brazilian players in their squad.
Speaking in an interview with horseracing.net, McManaman said of the reports linking Gabriel Jesus to the Gunners: “Is he better than what Arsenal have got? The answer is yes.
“Manchester City are more than happy to let him go because they brought in Erling Haaland, so have Man City improved in that area? Probably, yes. It’s only natural that Gabriel Jesus will start to look at Haaland and think that it’s time to leave.
“He has the potential to go to Arsenal and be their star man. There are Brazilian and Portuguese-speaking players at Arsenal already. Mikel Arteta has worked with him before and he’ll be the main man.
“Alexandre Lacazette has moved on and I know they’ve just re-signed Eddie Nketiah to a new deal, but Jesus will probably come in and know that he’s playing every week and that centre-forward spot is his own.
“It works for everybody, It’s pointless Manchester City keeping him if he’s going to be really unhappy. Arsenal need a centre-forward and he can be the main man as he already has huge amounts of Premier League experience, and it pays the bills for the Erling Haaland move.
“He has been linked with Chelsea and Tottenham too, so the factor of playing in the Champions League would weigh on your mind. You always want to play in the Champions League and the same goes for Jesus.
“He’s used to being successful with Manchester City so, of course, you want to play at the team which offers you Champions League football. Tottenham is less of a choice for him because they’ve got Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, who’ve both had great seasons, so suddenly that becomes competition for you.
“For Chelsea, it’ll all depend on whether of course Raheem Sterling turns up there or Romelu Lukaku goes, but they’ve got a plethora of people there, so Arsenal are the one team crying out for his type of player and of course he’s worked with Mikel Arteta so maybe that negates the fact that they’re not in the Champions League. He can go there and be comfortable with someone he knows already.”
Gabriel Jesus has scored a total of 95 goals in 236 games for Manchester City since having joined the club from Palmeiras back in August 2016.
He has won four Premier League titles, the FA Cup and three League Cups with Pep Guardiola’s side.
