Gabriel Jesus has been sensational since making the summer switch to Arsenal from Manchester City in the transfer window. The Gunners were screaming out for a top-quality striker at the back end of last season, and it seems they have found that in the Brazilian.
Jesus has had an excellent start to the season under Mikel Arteta, scoring two goals in his first home game against Leicester. This form is after an impressive pre-season where he scored seven goals in five matches.
It is clear that Jesus will become one of Arsenal’s most iconic strikers if he continues on this trajectory. However, there was a strong possibility that he would not have been a player for the north London side due to Real Madrid’s situation with their player registration for the upcoming La Liga season.
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On Tuesday morning Real Madrid officially announced that Vinicius Junior received his Spanish citizenship. This means that the UEFA Champions League holders can add one more non-EU player to the squad.
In La Liga, each club is allowed five non-EU players but are only allowed to name three non-EU players in each matchday squad. The term 'non-EU' refers to a player whose country of citizenship is outside of the European Union.
Fabrizio Romano reported that Real Madrid's proposed deal for Jesus in June collapsed due to the lack of non-EU spots. The timing of the granting of Vinicius Junior's Spanish citizenship worked perfectly in Arsenal's favour as Jesus has been a revelation since joining the club.
In the first three games of the Premier League this season, according to Squawka, Jesus had the highest 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.
Only Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, Mohamed Salah, and Luiz Suarez rank higher than the new Arsenal striker, which highlights that he is in very good company.
Not only does he have valuable Premier League experience, but he has also elevated the Arsenal team and has started the season excellently for Arteta's side without the need of an adaptation period that has proved crucial.
With Real Madrid being an attractive destination after winning the Champions League in the previous campaign, it is likely Arsenal would not have been able to capture Jesus without the registration issue of the LaLiga side.
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