Shock admission from £45m Arsenal star justifies Arteta’s big-money transfer plan

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Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus recently admitted to a major flaw in his own game.

Speaking after representing Brazil on international duty, Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus confessed that goalscoring is not one of his strengths.

This admission elicited a strong response from many Arsenal fans who feel that the club need a more prolific presence than Jesus up front.

Since his £45 million switch from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, Jesus’ goal return for Arsenal has been respectable, but not spectacular. In 44 appearances for the north London club, across all competitions, the 26-year-old has scored 15 goals. 

Jesus has been criticised for being wasteful in front of goal at times, and whilst his commitment to dropping deep to involve himself in the build up play is admirable, it often means that he is not in position to apply a finishing touch once the ball has been worked into a dangerous area.

Mikel Arteta is a huge fan of the 63-cap Brazil international. After signing the player, Arteta said that he expected Jesus to “set different standards at the club,” as quoted by the club’s official website.

Arsenal search for Gabriel Jesus upgrade is necessary

Jesus has largely had a positive impact at the Emirates Stadium. However, aside from his conversion rate in front of goal, regular injury issues have also posed a problem. These two factors have surely played a big part in convincing Arteta that he needs to bring a new striker in.

Arsenal are on the hunt for a new goalscorer, with the January transfer window now on the horizon.

The Gunners have been heavily linked with a move for Brentford’s Ivan Toney. Sporting director Edu has previously held talks with Napoli over the prospect of striking a deal for Victor Osimhen. Brighton sensation Evan Ferguson is also thought to be on Arsenal’s shortlist.

None of these targets will come cheap. Top level strikers always cost big money. None of them would be brought in to play second fiddle behind Jesus, either. The arrival of any one of them would have a huge impact on the amount of game time that the former Manchester City man could expect. 

Given Jesus has now admitted that he doesn’t consider himself an expert goalscorer, though, it is hard to argue against the fact that Arteta should be on the lookout for one of those. If Arsenal are to mount a successful title challenge this season they will need a reliable source of goals up front.