Gabriel Jesus is set to join Arsenal for around £45m this summer, but Fabrizio Romano revealed in his latest Caught Offside column that a number of Premier League clubs were trying to hijack the deal.
He wrote: ‘Chelsea and Tottenham were genuinely interested in signing Gabriel. They had a lot of contact with his agent but he wasn’t a priority target.’
Instead, it was Arsenal who convinced Jesus that he would be the star of their side next season.
The 25-year-old started just 21 Premier League games from a possible 38 and started three Champions League games from a possible 12 this season, so Jesus wanted to join a side willing to give him more playing time.
If Chelsea and Tottenham didn’t consider him a priority, it’s unlikely they would have started him as regularly as Arsenal want to. The Gunners released Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in February and Alexandre Lacazette in June, so they had a void to fill in attack.
Their manager Mikel Arteta knows Jesus from his time at Man City too, so the 25-year-old trusts he’ll benefit his career.
It’s a big call for Jesus to make given he’s won four Premier League titles in the last five seasons at City and is joining a club that missed out on Champions League football, but being a regular in the starting lineup clearly means more.
In other news, Chris Iwelumo can’t believe Man City would let Raheem Sterling join Chelsea
I personally love ❤ to see Jesus playing, his valuation rate would have been much more than Raphina only that, he had chosen Arsenal.
I trust all de players Arsenal brings to the club