Gabriel Jesus: Almost signed, almost sealed and almost delivered

Credible European football journalists Charles Watts, Fabrizio Romano, Chris Wheatley and David Ornstein have all reported in the past 24 hours that an agreement between Arsenal and Manchester City has been reached, and that Gabriel Jesus will become an Arsenal player this season.  Another football writer, Dean Jones claimed the signing of Jesus “is the bridge Arsenal are building, the one that gets you to the Champions League.”

The transfer fee for Jesus is in the neighborhood of $55.2-million (USD). Only the player’s personal contract terms remain to be finalized.

This is exciting news for Arsenal Nation, and what’s even equally important is Jesus will have an entire preseason camp to get acquainted with his new teammates, and with Mikel Arteta’s system.

The Gunners have needed a top-notch striker since the decline Pierre-Emerick Aubamyeang’s productivity as an Arsenal striker. The 25-year-old Brazilian had 58 goals in 159 appearances for City.

So, what’s next for Edu Gaspar and Arteta? Well, they continue their hot pursuit for Leeds United’s Raphinha, and for Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez. Leicester City playmaker Youri Tielemans also remains a possibility.

Even though the Arsenal transfer window looks to be a successful one, I still have concerns. Arteta desperately needs reliable cover for Kieran Tierney, who has proven to be injury prone. Martinez could be that player. Also, Cedric Soares could remain as Takehiro Tomiyasu’s back-up, however, the Portuguese defender tends to make a lot of Gooners nervous, so a potential replacement could be in order on the right side of our defense as well. Plus, the Gunners brass needs to sign Bukayo Saka and William Saliba to new deals. Lock them in, and move on. And, as we have mentioned earlier, the overall squad needs to be drastically trimmed down to manageable size.

So, at this point, Arsenal has signed Mo Eleney, Eddie Nketiah, Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira. All we need is ink on the paper for Gabriel Jesus and Matt Turner to join the list as well.

It’s a great start to what we hope is an amazing season for Gooners everywhere!

Cheers.

Gunner1953