Gabriel Jesus confirms Arsenal exit plan after seeing Premier League move blocked

Gabriel Jesus has had an injury-strewn couple of years with Arsenal and the Brazilian striker has now revealed where his future lies after falling down the pecking order in North London

Gabriel Jesus has revealed his desire to return to former club Palmeiras but an Arsenal exit is not on the cards…yet. The Brazilian forward moved to the Emirates Stadium from Manchester City back in 2022.

The Gunners paid £45million for Jesus’ signature but a number of long-term injuries have restricted him to just 96 appearances since then, scoring 26 goals.

Jesus has regularly been linked with moves away from Arsenal, with Everton the latest to be touted – albeit Arsenal will rebuff any attempt to sign him from their Premier League rivals.

Jesus, 28, has now spoken out on his future and claimed that he wants to return to former club Palmeiras but only when the time is right. He said: “I’ve never had contact with another club, and my desire, as I say, is to return to Palmeiras, and Palmeiras’ desire is for me to return to Palmeiras.

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“When I feel it’s time to return to Palmeiras, I’ll decide that with Arsenal, but we’re talking about a player who’s been out for nine months and is now fighting to get back into the team, and there are journalists who are talking without any basis whatsoever.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has shared his stance on Jesus’ future and revealed he is keen to keep him around. He said: “[He is] a player that is very unpredictable, full of energy, super competitive, a player that comes from a context of difficulty in the last few seasons for various nasty injuries.

“So the level of hunger and desire that he’s going to bring to the team is going to be amazing.

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“So I’m thrilled to have him, I think he’s going to add something extra to the team that we don’t have and make sure that very soon we see him on that pitch making an impact for the team.

“We haven’t had them [all fit] and now we don’t have Viktor, and we haven’t had Kai again for three months or many forwards, and unfortunately that’s becoming something that consistently is happening. So we need those options, and what an option to have with Gabi.”

Jesus started his professional career with Brazilian side Palmeiras, scoring 28 goals in 83 appearances ahead of a £27m switch to Man City. The forward helped City to four Premier League titles, the FA Cup and three Carabao Cups as he scored 95 goals in 236 appearances in all competitions.

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