Gabriel Jesus responds to Arsenal exit talk with huge admission that will split Gunners fans
The Brazilian has been sidelined since mid-January when he tore his ACL in the FA Cup exit against Manchester United, but made his long-awaited return to first-team training earlier this month after a grueling 10 months of rehabilitation. Now, Gabriel Jesus is hoping to get his career back on track after seeing injuries slow his progress in recent times.
Indeed, the 28-year-old has missed 82 matches for Arsenal since joining Manchester City for £45 million in the summer of 2022, almost the same number he has played in, where his record currently stands at 26 goals in 96 appearances.
Those injuries ultimately led to Mikel Arteta spending big on Viktor Gyokeres this summer and, with the Swede in good form since his arrival, speculation has claimed that the Gunners are open to selling the Brazilian when the January window opens for business.
However, Jesus himself insists that now is not the right time to leave, despite the fact that his contract at the Emirates Stadium will expire in the summer of 2027.
“Coming back from such a complex operation, it makes no sense for me to leave Arsenal now,” he told the Brazilian media outlet. Somos Fanatics.
And while openly admitting that when he does leave it will likely be for his first club, Palmeiras, Jesus says the constant speculation over his future is a source of frustration for him.
“When I feel it is time to return to Palmeiras, I will decide that with Arsenal, but we are talking about a player who has been out for nine months and who is now fighting to re-enter the team, and there are journalists who speak without any basis,” Jesus lamented.
Arsenal fans will be torn apart by Gabriel Jesus as Arteta speaks out
While he isn’t exactly producing prolific numbers for Arsenal, the player is a popular player with his teammates and Arteta, who appreciate the star’s sacrifices for the good of the team.
But with his importance reduced following a series of injuries and with a contract expiring in just over 18 months, we are surely now witnessing a player in the final months of his time with Arsenal.
To this end, fans may feel that, with time ticking and the chances of an extension slim, Arsenal should sell the player at the first opportunity to maximize his value.
However, despite having Mikel Merino as a very competent Plan B option, it emerged last week that Arteta was prepared to block a potential exit in the January window as the player felt he was back in the game.
Now, Arteta himself has explained how he plans to reinstate the 64-times capped Brazilian striker into his first-team thinking.
“(He’s) a very unpredictable player, full of energy, super competitive, a player who comes from a difficult background in recent seasons due to various nasty injuries,” Arteta said.
“So the level of hunger and desire that he’s going to bring to the team is going to be incredible.
“So I’m delighted to have him, I think he’s going to add something extra to the team that we don’t have and make sure that very soon we see him on that pitch having an impact on the team.
“We haven’t had them (all fit), and now we don’t have Viktor, and we haven’t had Kai for three months or many strikers, and unfortunately that’s becoming something that happens regularly. So we need those options, and what an option to have with Gabi.”
Latest Arsenal News: Huge Claims From Elliot Anderson; Dowman makes headlines again
Meanwhile, TEAMtalk can reveal Nottingham Forest’s stance on the loss of star midfielder Elliot Anderson in January, as Arsenal are determined to beat Manchester United to the England international’s signature and make him a key figure in Arteta’s squad.
Elsewhere, with Arteta set to enter the final 18 months of his Arsenal contract, sources have explained why the club have absolutely no reason to be concerned about their manager’s future and despite a string of other priority deals.
Finally, Arsenal record signing Max Dowman hit the headlines again, this time on international duty with England Under-19s, while David Raya described the comparison between the Gunners sensation and Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal as “unbelievable”.