Arsenal arguably completed one of the best transfers of the summer by signing Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City. The Brazilian is the perfect fit to lead the line for the Gunners going into next season.
The new Arsenal striker only cost £45m despite coming with Premier League credentials and being Brazil’s starting striker. The north London side were on the hunt for a striker from the last January transfer window, but none of the payers who were linked had the same qualities as Jesus.
One of the players the Gunners were linked with was Alexander Isak and it is a blessing in disguise that Arsenal did not pursue a deal for him. Not only did he have a disappointing end to the last campaign, but the club would have had to smash their transfer record fee, which Newcastle are reportedly about to do.
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According to the Telegraph, Newcastle are considering making a record transfer bid for Isak. The Sweden international has been linked with a move to the Premier League since the start of last season.
Arsenal were heavily linked to Isak to solve these shortages, who is valued at just £58m by CIES Football observatory. But a deal never managed to materialise in the January transfer window due to reported concerns over his £75m release clause.
He currently plays for Real Sociedad and has scored 42 goals in 124 appearances for the La Liga side, showing plenty of promise along the way. But it would be risky to bring him in for such a high price, seeing as though he is yet to experience Champions League football or compete for the biggest trophies.
Jesus certainly turned out to be the better option. Not only did the Brazilian cost £30m less than what was quoted for Isak, but he also has the key experience of Champions League and Premier League football.
The 25-year-old's goal-per-minute ratio ranks him in the top 10 among other Premier League forwards over recent seasons. Jesus ranks seventh, having averaged a goal every 160 minutes.
This ranks him ahead of players such as Son Heung-min, who was awarded the Premier League Golden Boot for the 2021/2022 season, along with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. It also sees him fall just below Jamie Vardy and former Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
During Jesus' time with Arteta, the Brazilian played 6931 minutes, and he managed to score 55 goals. This meant that his goals per 90 minutes reached an average of 0.71. This record is better than when Arteta left City because, without the Spaniard, Jesus has played 6850 minutes and scored 39 goals which means he reached an average of 0.51 goals per game.
Jesus had a 39% goal improvement when Arteta was coaching him, and it is certainly a relationship the pair could rekindle when Brazilian leads the forward line for Arsenal next season.
Newcastle’s pursuit of Isak certainly sends a reminder of how Edu’s recruitment strategy was spot on to wait until the summer to sign a striker. Arteta will reap the rewards with Jesus in the team.
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