Manchester City Striker Gabriel Jesus Remains Silent Over Arsenal Move

Manchester City Striker Gabriel Jesus Remains Silent Over Arsenal Move

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:01 PM
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  • Jesus insists he is focused on the current season with Manchester City
  • Mikel Arteta looking to sign a striker with Jesus high on his list
  • The striker called Arteta a ‘fantastic manager and person’ in a previous interview

Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus has remained non-committal over his future. Jesus has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal in recent days.

The Brazilian said that it's not the time to think about a potential move, insisting he is focused on finishing the season on a high. City face Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday.

Manchester City, Gabriel Jesus, Jack Grealish
Gabriel Jesus celebrates his second goal against Watford with Jack Grealish. Photo by Alex Livesey
Source: Getty Images

Jesus was on fire over the weekend as he grabbed four goals against relegation candidate Watford. He assisted another goal as City won 5-1 to maintain their charge for the Premier League title.

Not the time to think about this. Now is the best moment of the season, I want to enjoy it and focus with my teammates to fight for the Premier League. That’s my focus.

The 25-year-old has emerged as a frontrunner for Arsenal, who are keen on bolstering their ranks in the summer. Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah are nearing the end of their contracts and with no negotiations in sight, Mikel Arteta will be in the market to hunt for another goal poacher.

Arteta worked with Jesus during his days as City’s assistant manager. In 2019, the striker praised the former Arsenal midfielder calling him a ‘fantastic guy and manager.’

Arsenal lost out on January target Dusan Vlahovic who elected to join Juventus instead. There have also been rumours of potential bids for Nigerian hitman Victor Osimhen. AS Roma’s Tammy Abraham was also on the Gunners’ shortlist before he moved to Italy.

Other possible names include Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, Real Sociedad’s Alexander Isak and Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton.

Pep Guardiola has used Jesus sparingly since his arrival from Palmeiras. He has been used as a winger this season instead of the central number 9 position. That notwithstanding, he has been devastating on the flanks delivering seven goals and eight assists so far.

With a possible Champions League berth in sight, Arteta will want to improve his squad. Arsenal have registered back to back wins against fellow top-four candidates Manchester United and Chelsea to put them in prime position.

Haaland's arrival threat to Jesus

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Manchester City were closing in on a deal for Erling Haaland. The Norwegian's arrival could mean reduced minutes for Jesus and he could be tempted to move away from the Etihad stadium

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Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
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Mikel ArtetaPep Guardiola