Gabriel Jesus is determined to live up to being Arsenal’s new No9 - after idolising Thierry Henry.
Jesus was finally announced as an Arsenal player after completing a £45m switch from Manchester City to the Emirates. Brazil star Jesus played across all of the forward line during his time at City and scored 95 goals in 236 games for Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering team.
But Jesus has made it clear that he is determined to be seen now as a centre forward and wants to bring the club a new era of success to emulate the days of Henry and Co. Jesus, who has signed a five year deal, told the club’s website: “I'm a No.9! I'm a striker, you know. I'm so glad and I thank God every day that I can be alive, and that I can play in three or four different positions, but I think my position is nine.”
Jesus worked with Mikel Arteta at City and also knows technical director Edu from their time together with the Brazil set-up. He was full of praise for Arteta and his role in persuading him to sign but also admitted that former Arsenal striker Henry - the club’s all time record goalscorer - is an inspiration.
Jesus said: “I followed Arsenal when I was young because of [Thierry] Henry. Obviously I didn’t follow too many European teams but when I saw some of the players that played here, I was like 'wow, this club is big.’ When I played against Arsenal I was looking at the Emirates and it was a very good stadium, so I’m very excited to play here.
“We spoke a couple of times about the club, the players, the project and the future. I believe 100 per cent in Mikel. I had a very good time with him before, he’s a very good guy and a very good coach as well.
"He helped me a lot [at Manchester City]. We would always stick together after the training sessions and do some finishing or something. He’s a very intelligent guy and was an amazing player, so if he knows something he can teach me or the young players.”
Gunners boss Arteta is still determined to strengthen his squad further and they are battling it out with Manchester United for Ajax’s Lisandro Martinez and have already signed Fabio Vieira from Porto for £30m.
Arteta added: “I’m very excited. The club has done a tremendous job to recruit a player of this stature. I know Gabriel personally very well, and we all know him well from his time in the Premier League and being really successful here. This is a position that’s been on our radar for a long time now and we have managed to get a player that we all wanted, so I’m really happy.”
