Arsenal's defeat to Newcastle on Monday night has hampered their hopes of securing Champions League football next season, but the Gunners are still reportedly confident of signing Gabriel Jesus.
The Gunners fell to a 2-0 defeat against the Magpies, throwing away their Champions League spot to rivals Tottenham Hotspur who sealed a 1-0 win over Burnley. With just one game left until the season concludes, Arsenal have nothing but to hope Spurs slip up against Norwich City at Carrow Road.
While a number of targets have already been identified and fallen under consideration at the club, targets will consider European involvement imperative which may now prove to be a challenge for the Gunners boardroom who are striving to bolster Mikel Arteta's squad after the club reaffirmed their commitment to the Spaniard.
Having said that, the Gunners may still have some hope in landing Brazilian striker Jesus. Despite being contracted at the Etihad until next year, it is expected he will leave this summer, if he is granted regular Champions League football.
According to The Athletic, the Emirates club are optimistic they can still land Jesus as they feel that the pull of project, the city and the club is sufficient to secure his signature. Arsenal and technical director Edu will still have money to spend in the summer, but the Champions League money could have been put towards another signing.
Jesus' agent Marcelo Pettinati has recently addressed his client's possible move to the Emirates, while also stating there are a host of other potential suitors.
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"We had talks with Arsenal about Gabriel Jesus, we like the project - it’s a possibility we’re discussing," Pettinati told Fabrizio Romano. "There are 6 more clubs interested in Gabriel - he’s focused on final games with Man City, we’ll see."
With six other clubs interested, Arsenal face major competition should other clubs be able to offer European football, while they miss out on Champions League themselves. An offer for the 24-year-old however, is still understood to be imminent.
Other targets for Arteta include Darwin Nunez, who is only set to leave Lisbon outfit Benfica if Champions League is on offer. Leicester City 's Youri Tielemans, who is out of contract in a year, has also emerged as a potential signing in recent weeks, with Edu said to have met up with his agent at London Colney at the start of the year.
