Arsenal's search for centre-forward reinforcements when the summer transfer window opens has seen them strongly linked with a move for Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus.
Interestingly, amid talk of joining the Gunners, the 25-year-old showed why he could be the perfect addition to Mikel Arteta's first-team squad next season by scoring four goals as City thumped Watford on Saturday afternoon to open up an - albeit potentially temporary - four-point lead over Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
With Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah both out of contract at Arsenal in the summer, it's no surprise that Arteta is looking to bolster his forward options as Darwin Nunez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alexander Isak are among those who have also been tipped for a move to the Emirates Stadium.
READ MORE: Pep Guardiola 'doesn't care' if Gabriel Jesus leaves Manchester City amid Arsenal transfer links
Although, it would appear that Gabriel Jesus is the chosen one. In fact, some reports claim the Brazilian has already agreed terms with the north London outfit and all that remains is for the two clubs to reach an agreement over a transfer fee.
But how much could City demand for the striker? Well, his €50m-€70m (£42m-£58m) valuation via CIES Football Observatory - which takes the length of his contract and age into consideration - could be an indicator. As does a closer look at the players sold by the club since Pep Guardiola was appointed in the summer of 2016.
Whilst the Spaniard has assembled a squad that is the envy of most clubs across Europe, with the likes of Ederson, Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez - just to name a few - proving to be excellent signings, he's also allowed over 30+ first-team players to leave since arriving in Manchester.
And it's the exits of Fabian Delph, Alexandar Kolarov, Joe Hart, Brahim Diaz and Leroy Sane that could provide a clue as to what's in store for Arsenal when the time comes to negotiating a fee for Gabriel Jesus, as they were all allowed to depart having entered the final six to 12 months of their contracts.
Of the five players in question, City made a huge profit on Brahim as they bought him for an initial £200,000 fee from Malaga before selling him to Real Madrid in a £15.5million deal in the 2019 January transfer window, five months before the midfielder would have been a free agent.
Furthermore, it's a similar story with Hart as he arrived at the club as a youngster for £100,000 before being sold to Burnley for around £3m having been deemed surplus to requirements by Guardiola due to his unreliable distribution. Meanwhile, Delph's £8.5m move to Everton in July 2019 helped City make a small profit having signed him from Aston Villa four years prior.
With regards to Sane, as per the Manchester Evening News, City received £44m upfront, with add-ons of another £10m from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2020, which is great business considering they paid £37m to land the Germany international from Schalke four years prior. This also means that the only player who has left City in the final year of his contract that the club has taken a loss on in recent years is Kolarov, which is understandable given his age.
Gabriel Jesus finds himself in a similar position heading into the summer, as at the end of the season he will have one year remaining on his contract at the Etihad Stadium. Judging by City's approach to players in this situation in recent years, they won't want to lose someone of his calibre for free and they'll look to make a profit on the £27m they paid Palmeiras almost six years ago.
