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Football London
Sport
Bailey Keogh

Edu's surprise decision repeats Gabriel Jesus transfer tactic to solve growing Arsenal dilemma

Arsenal were desperately scrambling for a midfielder on transfer deadline day. Injuries suffered to Thomas Partey and Mohammed Elneny seriously weakened Mikel Arteta’s options in the middle of the park.

football.london understood that a deal to sign Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz was actively being pursued on deadline day. But after three rejected bids by Villa, Arsenal were unable to secure a signing.

It had also been reported that the Gunners had the chance to sign Florian Grillitsch on a free transfer before the deadline, but Edu decided against this. The decision to reject this deal could prove to be a blessing for the North London side, similar to the Gabriel Jesus transfer in the summer.

READ MORE: Marquinhos sends direct response to Edu planned £35m Arsenal deal amid surprise transfer reveal

According to 90min, Arsenal were offered a number of midfielders heading into the final days of the transfer window, with one of these being Grillitsch before he eventually joined Ajax. A move to the Gunners never materialised as it seems Edu used the Jesus tactic in avoiding this deal.

Arsenal fans were disappointed by the failure to bring in a striker during the last winter window, especially after seeing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang depart and not be replaced, with a move for Dusan Vlahovic failing to materialise. However, Edu’s patience in waiting until the summer to sign a striker proved to be a blessing in disguise

Arteta appeared to take a swipe at Vlahovic, stating: "We only want the best people and the best players at this club and when we are in a rush or different pressures, and the reasons are not the right ones to get a player on board, we decided not to do it."

While it seemed as though it was a dig at Vlahovic, Gabriel Jesus' move to the Gunners this summer suggests that Edu was correct not to heavily pursue a deal for the Serbian international. Jesus reportedly had offers from other clubs, those who are playing in the Champions League, but turned them down for the Gunners.

It was not just Jesus' willingness to join the club which vindicated Edu’s patience with signing a striker, but it is also due to the quality the Brazilian has shown in the early weeks of the season in an Arsenal shirt.

In the first three games of the Premier League this season, according to Squawka, Jesus had the highest expected goals (xG) in the division, alongside the most goals and assists, the most touches in the opposition box, and the most take-ons completed. The Brazilian had been completely dominant in his opening matches as an Arsenal player.

However, the statistic that gives him the keys to becoming an iconic Premier League striker is the fact that he ranks fifth in Premier League history for goal involvement per minute without a penalty. Jesus contributes to a goal every 107.6 minutes via Orbinho.

With Edu opting against panic-buying in the final days of the window, it highlights he could be looking to repeat the same Jesus success for the midfielder position.

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