Chelsea have entered the race to sign Gabriel Jesus this summer causing Arsenal quite the quandary should they fail in their attempts to convince the Brazilian to make the switch to the Gunners. The possibility that Edu might fail this window is a growing frustration with each passing day.
Youri Tielemans looks a far more likely player on the list but with how strong the suggestions are that Gabriel Jesus would be making a switch to the Emirates, it is clear a U-turn for any player is possible. Arsenal missing out on Champions League football appears to be the deciding factor in these potential disappointments.
It should be stressed that Arsenal remain in the driving seat for both Jesus and Tielemans at this stage. Competition for players of this quality is very normal, especially when the primary candidate club faces an obstacle like missing out on the top four.
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However, Edu spoke of a ‘plan’ ahead of the window opening. This raised expectations and any good plan will have contingencies.
"The budget we used last summer, we prefer to use it to rebalance the squad, there was no point in hiring one or two players [in January], the squad was not prepared to absorb two players, we needed to rebalance the squad," Edu told ESPN Brasil. "Maybe next season we can go to one or two players. Today we find a much more balanced squad. Our planning has already been done; it has already reached the owners."
With this in mind, should deals for Jesus and/or Tielemans not end up happening, the Gunners need to have a response. Fortunately, in the striker position, in particular, it appears that the club have alternative targets. The most likely right now is Gianluca Scamacca, although The Athletic report that the coaching staff hold reservations about the possibility of bringing in a forward with such stark differences to the primary forward being Jesus.
However, the fact the links remain, and other options are being considered, should give supporters some comfort that the plan B and perhaps C, D and E have been considered. Although, with the amount of preparation put into Jesus, missing out on him would now look particularly poor.
Regarding Tielemans, the obvious plan B option would seemingly be Jesus’ teammate Oleksandr Zinchenko. The Ukrainian is admired by Mikel Arteta from his time in the northwest. However, his similarities to Granit Xhaka are suggested to be a slight obstacle in a potential deal. But again, ensuring that alternatives are discussed is a change to prior frustrations that the window has caused.
With the window now officially open to register domestic signings, with the wider market opening on July 1st, Arsenal will be increasing their work rate. The end of international football for the season taking place next week will only intensify that ethic.
Pre-season now looms come the end of this month. The hope will be that priority business can be done by the time the schedule of friendly fixtures comes round to allow players to bed in, but only time will tell.
