The Gunners have reached an agreement over a transfer fee with Manchester City for the transfer of striker Gabriel Jesus, The Athletic claims. The Brazilian, whose City contract expires a year later in June 2023, was reportedly Mikel Arteta’s preferred candidate for an attacking addition to the squad following the departure of Alexandre Lacazette upon the expiration of his contract.
Arsenal will now pay their Premier League rivals a 45 million pound fee to secure the rights of the player. Some minor formalities of the deal are left to be figured out still, but the Brazilian international will pen a long-term contract at the Emirates, barring any late hitches, and become the club’s fourth signing of the current transfer window.
The forward moved to England in January 2017, signing for the Citizens from boyhood club Palmeiras in a 27 million pound deal. It took him no time to settle in; he would finish his first half-season at the club making 11 appearances across all competitions and scoring seven goals.
Over the next five full seasons, Jesus appeared an additional 225 times for the club and scored 88 more goals, winning the Premier League four times and finishing as the runners-up in the UEFA Champions League once.
Jesus’s recruitment sees Arsenal continue their proactive approach at the start of the summer window. The Gunners signed Brazilian hitman Marquinhos from Sao Paulo earlier in the window before adding FC Porto midfielder Fabio Vieira to their squad in a 35 million pound transfer.
The club had also agreed a deal with Major League Soccer side New England Revolution for the transfer of custodian Matt Turner last January; the USA international will join his new team for pre-season and is expected to replace the outgoing Bernd Leno as Aaron Ramsdale’s back-up.
Meanwhile, Arsenal remain in the market for more attackers. The Gunners are strongly linked to Leeds United star Raphinha, for whom they had a bid rejected.
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