The Gunners’ summer window has come alive in the last few days due to a surge in transfer activity. A backup goalkeeper, two midfielders, and a defender are on the verge of joining the club. This will come as a boost, but the club’s work is far from over.
The frontline still needs reinforcements, with centre-forward particularly in dire need of a quality addition. The club is widely expected to sign a conventional number nine. The two priority targets have become so synonymous with the window that I do not even need to mention their names in this article. Whether Arsenal lands either player remains to be seen, but it is already set in stone that the club will make a high-profile signing this summer.
With this in mind, Kai Havertz will be expected to play second fiddle from the start of next season while also remaining an option in midfield. However, the future of one man remains up in the air.
Jesus’ injury adds uncertainty to his role
Gabriel Jesus is currently nursing a long-term injury and is still months away from a return to action. He suffered an ACL injury against Manchester United in the FA Cup third round back in January and is expected to return in the second half of the year. The Brazilian underwent surgery but is now back in the gym as he bids to come back stronger than ever.
Nevertheless, his Arsenal future remains unclear and he is widely expected to depart sooner rather than later. The arrival of two forwards, including a winger, could accelerate his move away. But all things considered, does the 28-year-old still have a chance in the Arsenal first team? At first glance, the answer is blatantly clear, but nothing can be ruled out.
Could Jesus still offer value to Arteta’s plans?
Gabriel Jesus is a player held in high esteem by Mikel Arteta. There is a reason the Spaniard made him his first centre-forward signing at the club. His work ethic, technical ability and elite mentality are qualities highly sought after and could still prove useful in the Arsenal squad moving forward.
His ability to play on the wings is also a huge reason to keep hold amidst the need for added strength in depth. Being 28, he is also at his peak, which could add experience to a fairly young side. There are a number of reasons the club should keep the Brazilian, but it comes with its own risks as well.
No one knows how he is going to fare off the back of an injury of that nature. The last time he suffered a long-term injury, Gabriel Jesus struggled upon his return to the Arsenal side, which will surely spark worries among the backroom staff. His inability to stay fit is a concern as well as his inconsistency. That said, he did score eight goals in the last seven games before his ill-fated injury. He is a player that will offer a different dimension to the Arsenal attack. on his day, but it remains to be seen whether a spot in the squad will be reserved upon his return.
What do you think, Gooners? Should Jesus be kept as a versatile option, or is it time to move on?
Benjamin Kenneth
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The problem is his contract will only expire in 2027, so his high salary and injury history would likely deter the other clubs
If he can’t be shipped out, he might be able to compete with Martinelli for the LW position or convert him into an AM as Newcastle did to Joelinton
If we get a left winger and a striker then he won’t be useful again.
Jesus, Zinchenko and Tomiyasu will leave sooner rather than later.
When fit and in form he is the PERFECT compliment to Havertz. Elusive, explosive and able to dribble past static defenders in a low block. But he is broken. It took him 18 months to regain both fitness and form after his World Cup injury. He may regain his fitness by the 2nd half of this upcoming season but it will take him months to get back his form. Expect NO major contributions from him this upcoming year.
Think he’ll be Saka’s backup for one year before being shipped on.
Let’s not kid ourselves. Ideally, he should have been shown the exit door a season or two ago. Given his overall contribution as a supposed striker (not just the odd “spurt” of good form) he in no way justifies his exorbitant £14m or so a year wage.
Unfortunately, in the real world (a) he almost certainly wouldn’t go through the exit door – £14m a year until contract expiry in summer 2027 is too big an ask, isn’t it; and (b) on the off-chance he should decide to leave, where on earth would he go – other than possibly Saudi – who would pay him anything like that ridiculous salary?
I guess we’re stuck with him for another two years, so Arsenal has to make the best of a very bad job. You never know though, he’s scored a total of 7 goals in the EPL across the last two seasons (44 games) so he could break that record and get to, say, 5 league goals in 2025-26.
But I think Jesus was open to moving back to Brazil when rumour about Palmeiras willing to pay about €40 million for him in January 2024.
Even the Palmeiras president came out and validated that he was willing to pay if Arsenal were willing to sell. But Arteta / Arsenal refused.
And what I have noticed about some of these South American players is that they are willing move instead of milking.
Willian terminated his contract when he could milked it to the last.
Denilson also just accepted and left Arsenal during the wenger years..
Alexis Sanchez could have stayed at Man United and milked the supposed £500,000 a week.
Ronaldinho left Barcelona when he could have stayed and run down his contract.
But we will see how Jesus behaves if the club decides to sell him.
🤞
240k a week being wasted on him ,will be another player we let go for nothing after spending 40 odd million on him plus 50 odd million in wages ,100 million wasted because Arteta worked with him at city .
No accountability it seems then fans wonder why we are Close to PSR limits every season .
Jesus definitely has a place to fight for in our team. The guy is so talented, he causes so much mayhem in the opposition half.
I like his work rate, intelligence etc, his problems as always have been his lack of killer instinct infront of goal, he will take on and twist his opponent in a pretzel but then end up with a poor shot. Or he will over do the tricks and ends up fcking up the opportunity to for his teammates or himself to have a clear shot at goal. And his Injury troubles.
But I think if he stays fit (How many times have we said this?). Lol
But if he is to stay fit he will be a very useful assets for this coming “Already heated up Season” where the manager (Arteta and some players) are going to be under so much pressure to deliver one of the Big ones (EPL or CL).
🤞
Is he really worth £14m a season though? Jesus is described as a “striker” after all but, as you say, he lacks killer instinct (and almost certainly won’t find it now at 28). A very expensive luxury, particularly with other players coming in?
He definitely is not worth £14 million a year. I was not too enthused about paying £40 million and £200,000 a week in wages that were being reported at the time. But I was helpless as always, the club does what it wants.
But after he joined Arsenal and put in the shift he did in the 2022/23 season I forgot about the money we spent on him.
See with me I don’t really mind that much how much a player is earning as long as I can feel and see that they give their all on that pitch. Working hard and showing that you care is the bare minimum I start at. Hence why I never had a problem with the likes of Giroud, Lacazette, Xhaka, Mustafi, Kolasinac etc. Show some passion and fight for the team, fans and club and I will be okay. Your best might not be enough but at least you try / tried to the best of your ability.
Now we come to Jesus, he never slacks on the field, he is always trying even if his end product can be abysmal. The club already paid £40 million and gave him a massive contract. So I can’t do much about that. What is left for me to focus on are his performances, fight, passion, care and him trying the best he can when on that field.
No player is worth £10,000 a week, £100,000 a week or £500,000 a week just to kick a football. But that’s the reality of the sport. Relegated clubs get about £100 million each just for having been in the EPL.
The EPL makes £billions in sponsorships deals, clubs get their own individual sponsorship deals from all kind of companies a seasons, so transfer fees and wages will go up no matter what.
Now that I accepted that the money in Football is ridiculous. I then have to start demanding progress, hardwork and purpose for all (Club, manager and Players).
Hard work, Fight, passion, care, progress etc are my basics. And I think Jesus ticks a few of them.
I don’t ask for much as always. 👍
The Jesus we witnessed in those first three months was without a doubt worth those wages, even without the goals. He gave so much boost to our overall play that he was almost universally regarded as the most in form forward in the league, up until that unfortunate injury during World Cup.
Yes he wasn’t scoring tons of goals but he was a major reason why Saka, Martinelli,Odegaard and Xhaka scored tons. I can’t think of many forwards who have had that sort of impact on the players around them.
If Jesus didn’t get that injury and continued playing at THAT level, I doubt anyone would be complaining about his wages. I will never forget the impact he and Zinchenko had in their first season. Hindsight is 20/20 and it’s easy to say it was a luxury signing with the benefit of the knowledge of how his Arsenal career turned out. But the impact, leadership, lift, creativity, mentality and hard work that he brought into the team tells it was a necessity. A no brainer signing.
He’s on 240k a week ,get grip ,nothing worse than a fake fan .
@Dan
Do your brain ever grapple with trying to engage with deeper nuanced conversations?
Or it’s just short circuited in shallow, no substance low (Twitter troll) IQ mode?
It’s always the same year after year, season after season. Why don’t you try to contribute substantively on any given issues?
You can be so brain draining.
🤦♂️
The guy is an idiot and a bully. Whenever people try to discuss things in a nuanced manner all he does is make snide comments.
An idiot 😲😂
Good one David ,your constant belittling of fans on everyone of your posts takes some beating .
Your only agreeing with him because he’s cut from the same cloth as you .
@David
Mate I understand your pain. I have known him since 2017 or 2018. It’s the same old nonsense. At least with others that we disagree with they always engage in a much more mature substantive manner. But with Dan Kit and his ilk it’s the same old shallow (twitter style) brain killing engagements.
🤦♂️
lol
Lols .
If I wanted advice on how to have a conversation On a football forum I wouldn’t be taking advice from the likes of you
Isn’t it .
@Dan
I did not know that you could even engage in conversations.
I never knew that low information Twitter style one liners were classified as conversations too.
But Ey, I learn something new everyday. 😊
I apologise for calling you a fake fan ,seem to have upset the the local crack pots below .
let him take his time to recover… I think main reason he keeps getting injured is being rushed back to soon
if Havertz is fit and new striker just imagine the mayhem Jesus could create in the last 15 minutes
and also ideal for cup matches and CL once we are through qualifying
Keep him for this season definitely
When fit he is some player.
Sadly always injury prone
Alongside Tomiyasu, Nelson and Vieira: I do think there should be a spot for him on the list of players to be discarded.
Havertz is a better striker.
Merino is a better striker.
And those are not even long-standing strikers being mentioned.
I seriously do not know what this guy is if not just a player grossly overrated.
And Partey, Zinchenko and Tomiyasu might have an even better fitness record than he does for Arsenal.
A great player on his day but that happens perhaps four times a year.
For me in his first season up until his injury he was just what we needed. But having come back after his injury a different player. We see glimpses here and there, but overall he’s no longer the answer.
And unfortunately with him being on the wage that he is, and his on going recovery from his latest injury, no club is going to want him any time soon I’m afraid.
So we’re stuck with a player who’s just draining our clubs financial resources until his contract runs its course. We can only hope that we see more glimpses of the early Jesus that we got, but I think that ship has sailed, sadly. 🤦♂️
As I’ve commented before, I don’t see why we would be thinking of selling any player, after last season exposed how threadbare we were after the injuries.
Of course, the likes of Partey (if he goes) and those players out on loan might be considered to be surplus to requirements (Vieira?) but that’s it in my opinion…. at least until we see who we sign and in what position they will play.
Common sense to the rescue. Thanks Ken. I’m not particularly positive as to Jesus coming back to the level he demonstrated in his first two or three months as an Arsenal player. I think he is pretty much shot as a result of his serial injury concerns, but we do need squad depth and as a result he should be given the opportunity to at least come off the bench and hopefully demonstrate that he can be a valuable squad member for a final season with Arsenal.