Gabriel Jesus will reportedly wear the No. 9 jersey at Arsenal following his transfer from Manchester City.
The Brazil international recently completed a £45 million move from the Premier League champions and has reportedly completed his medicals in north London (as per Fabrizio Romano).
A report by the Mirror reveals that the 25-year-old will inherit the jersey number nine that was recently vacated by Alexandre Lacazette. It is a number that Jesus is very familiar with, having worn it for the last three seasons at City, as well as on the international scene with Brazil.
The former Palmeiras man has signed a five-year deal with Arsenal and will bear the brunt of the club’s goalscoring expectations.
He joins the club on the back of five-and-a-half trophy-laden seasons at the Etihad that saw him win eight major trophies. He departs the Premier League champions having scored 95 goals and provided 46 assists in 236 matches in all competitions for the Cityzens.
However, the arrival of Erling Haaland at the club threatened his gametime, making him look for a move away to guarantee playing time.
Rather surprisingly, Arsenal have not had too many iconic players donning the number nine jersey in the Premier League era.
Only a handful of names have justified the legendary number. Nicolas Anelka, Paul Merson, Alexandre Lacazette and Lukas Podolski are among the few No. 9s to make a mark for the Gunners.
What can Arsenal fans expect from Gabriel Jesus?
Arsenal headed into the summer transfer window with shadows hanging over their strike force.
The Gunners lost the services of former captain Pierre-Americk Aubameyang in January as he left for Barcelona, while Lacazette also departed on a free transfer in June.
This left Eddie Nketiah as the only recognized centre-forward in the first team, with the 23-year-old having recently signed a contract extension.
Gabriel Jesus’ arrival at the Emirates could help mitigate some of the concerns in attack. The former Palmeiras man might not be the most high-profile striker in the world, but he has a decent record in front of goal.
He has also proven himself on the biggest stages and is an established regular for Brazil. He brings a winning mentality into the Gunners dressing room and this experience could prove invaluable as Mikel Arteta attempts to build a winning squad in north London.
Source: @allfootball.
