Liverpool travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal on Sunday afternoon and could do Manchester City a favour if they pick up all three points. In his pre-match press conference, manager Jurgen Klopp spoke about the Gunners’ quality in attack and was full of praise for Gabriel Jesus, but he has an interesting theory on why he was sold to Arsenal.
Jesus’ departure from City was surprising as he’d scored 13 goals with 12 assists from 41 games in his final season, so Pep Guardiola risked strengthening a title rival by agreeing a deal. Klopp says the geographical distance between the two sides was why the move materialised.
Where will Manchester City finish in the Premier League this season?
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th or lower
As per the Liverpool Echo, he told reporters: “I know City wouldn’t have sold him to every club but Arsenal, the distance was big enough. Geographically! He’s an exceptional player, you always saw that when he played for City.”
Jesus left City after growing disillusioned with Guardiola’s squad rotation policy and the Sky Blues felt they could sign an upgrade in the transfer market with Erling Haaland. The chance to play under Mikel Arteta was also a factor for Jesus making the switch, so the move came down to more than geography.
Guardiola says he won’t stand in the way if a player wants to leave City and that was the case with the Brazilian international, but Arsenal were the only side Jesus had eyes on.
City sold Raheem Sterling to a Chelsea side that finished third last season, so they risked strengthening the West Londoners too.
Jesus has gone on to score five goals with three assists in eight league games while Arsenal top the table, so the move couldn’t have gone better for the Gunners.
In other news, Man City may be ‘keeping an eye’ on Buyako Saka but a deal won’t materialise
The Vital Network is unique from other football content providers as all the sites are run by the fans, for the fans. We are looking for a writer to join our Manchester City site. If you can write well-constructed, thought-provoking opinion pieces alongside reporting on current events and breaking news then I want to hear from you. Email paddy@snack-media.com.
Can you name these Man City players from the 2000s? Test your knowledge, take the quiz and challenge your friends and family to beat your score