Arsenal have secured the signature of Gabriel Jesus in a £45million switch from Manchester City.
Jesus will wear the No 9 shirt recently vacated by Alexandre Lacazette, who left for Lyon on a free transfer.
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Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta made it clear to the North London club hierarchy that he was incredibly keen on a reunion with the Brazilian international after Jesus enjoyed his best season at the Etihad during Arteta’s final campaign as an assistant to Pep Guardiola.
The entire transfer has been a poorly kept secret from both sides.
The Gunners put in nearly six months of work with Jesus’ representative Marcello Pettinati to ensure they were in pole position to recruit him from City this summer.
Following the additions of Fabio Vieira, Matt Turner and Marquinhos, he becomes the club’s fourth signing of the summer.
Arsenal technical director Eduardo César Daud Gaspar, known as Edu, said, “We are delighted that we have secured the transfer of Gabriel. Everyone who knows football well, knows the qualities of Gabriel Jesus.
“Gabriel is a player who we have admired for a long time now. He is 25 years old and an established Brazil international who has consistently demonstrated that he is a player at a very high level. We look forward to seeing him join up with his new teammates ahead of the new season. We all welcome Gabriel to Arsenal.”
Arteta expressed excitement at the transfer, saying the club had done a tremendous job to recruit a “player of his stature.”
“This is a position that’s been on our radar for a long time now and we have managed to get a player that we all wanted, so I’m really happy,” he added.
