Ian Wright says he was convinced Arsenal were going to win the Premier League when ‘crazy’ player signed

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Arsenal have finished second in the Premier League in three consecutive seasons and patience is starting to wear thin in some sections of the club’s fanbase.

Andrea Berta and Mikel Arteta have responded to a disappointing domestic campaign in 2024/25 by spending big, acquiring six players to bolster the Spaniard’s squad.

Viktor Gyokeres arrives as the marquee signing from Sporting CP, joining in a £63 million deal after enjoying two prolific seasons in Portugal.

Meanwhile, the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Noni Madueke have also signed for the North Londoners and should enhance the Gunners’ opportunity of lifting major silverware in 2025/26.

• READ MORE: Confirmed Arsenal summer 2025 transfer ins and outs, signings and done deals

Ian Wright says he thought Arsenal were going to win the league after signing Gabriel Jesus

If a major trophy doesn’t arrive in N5 next season, question marks may begin to be asked about senior figures within Arsenal.

That said, given where these senior figures have taken the Gunners from, they deserve plaudits for their work up until this point.

Arsenal’s first season as title challengers under Arteta came after the club made a series of important acquisitions that raised the level of the tactician’s squad, including Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus, in particular, took the Gunners’ attack from good to excellent in his first six months at the Emirates.

Speaking on the SDS YouTube channel, Arsenal legend Ian Wright said he was convinced Arteta’s team were going to win the Premier League after completing the signing of the Brazilian striker.

“We talk about strikers, he started on the right in Brazil and they turned him into a striker,” Wright said.

“But you talk about the way the game has progressed. The last injury he got was in his own box, that says everything to me.

“That’s unfortunately the way the game has gone. Him, for me, especially when he first came, I thought ‘this [Arsenal winning the league] is going to happen.’ It’s unfortunate.”

Jesus, whose form last season was described as ‘crazy’, was on fire in his first period at Arsenal, leading the Gunners to 13 wins from their opening 15 Premier League games, before sustaining an injury at the World Cup that kept him out for three months.

Never able to properly recover following that setback, the former Manchester City man has struggled to rediscover the electric form he showed at the beginning of his spell in Islington.

Gabriel Jesus is expected to leave Arsenal soon

Jesus tore his ACL in January, essentially putting an end to his Arsenal career.

This injury forced the Gunners to dip into the market and sign a new centre-forward in the form of Gyokeres, relegating the Brazil international to third in the pecking order when he does eventually return.

Flamengo are said to be interested in Jesus, while Tottenham are also understood to be shock potential suitors for the striker.

Arsenal had assumed they wouldn’t be able to sell the player due to his injury, although surprise interest has emerged in recent weeks.

It remains possible that clubs wait until he has recovered and make a move in January, meaning there could yet be one final swansong for Jesus in an Arsenal shirt.