Arsenal are trying very hard to sign Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus but pundit Craig Burley has urged the forward not to jump on a transfer.
Gabriel Jesus has refused to sign a new deal at Manchester City and as per the rumours, a £50 million transfer fee will be enough for Pep Guardiola to sanction a sale this summer.
Arsenal are said to be the favourites to sign the Brazilian international but Burley believes Jesus should play the waiting game.
“It’s a difficult one,” Burley told ESPN. “They need to get players in that are going to fill that position, that’s for sure.
“They have got some youngsters that have filled the wider positions and Odegaard behind. If I was Jesus, I think I would be inclined to sit and wait, especially with a year left (on his contract). And see what comes along.
“Now, whether or not Man City dissuade him from doing that, by suggesting there won’t be many minutes of game time, that is a ploy that could be used.
“It’s a difficult one for the player. He’s good enough to go somewhere and become this striker again – it’s whether he can persuade him to go to Arsenal where, is it all about the project? Arsenal are long off challenging for major honours.”
Will Arsenal be a good destination for the forward?
To be very frank, the player or his agent has never publicly said that Arsenal are their favoured destination but it’s the Gunners who are badly in need of the striker.
Lacazette has left for Lyon so Mikel Arteta has to bring in a world-class centre-forward at any cost and this is the primary reason why the Gunners are so inclined towards signing Gabriel Jesus.
Five other clubs, other than Arsenal, have contacted the agent of Gabriel Jesus, including Chelsea in recent weeks. Arsenal want him at all costs as their priority striker. Manchester City are asking for about €50m-€55m. [@FabrizioRomano via @caughtoffside] #afc pic.twitter.com/aTb9Pv0vpM
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) June 9, 2022
Burley is pretty accurate in his analysis because Arsenal have missed out on Champions League football and there’s no guarantee that they will be able to finish in the top-four next season either. If the forward has other serious options then Arsenal won’t actually be the primary destination for him.
Which other clubs are interested in signing Gabriel Jesus?
Gabriel Jesus has no shortage of takers because Arsenal’s Premier League rivals Spurs and Chelsea have both been linked with him.
At Spurs, Jesus will get the chance to play under manager Antonio Conte, alongside Harry Kane and that too in the Champions League. Tottenham are a team on the up and they can very well challenge for the PL title next season.
Chelsea too can be a practicable option for the Man City man because Tuchel is planning to get rid of the constantly underperforming Timo Werner. If the manager can get rid of players like Werner and Hakim Ziyech then Gabriel Jesus can very easily come into the starting XI.
However, the biggest suitor in this list are definitely Real Madrid who have just recently shown an interest in the Brazilian international and if the Los Blancos decide to step up their pursuit then none of the Premier League clubs will even come close.
