‘A small team’: Star told he’s made a big mistake joining Arsenal

Follow us on Google Discover

Gabriel Jesus has made a mistake leaving Manchester City for Premier League rivals Arsenal in a £45 million deal, former Brazil international Jose Ferreira Neto says in quotes reported by BolaVip. 

Since joining City from Palmeiras back in 2017, Jesus has accumulated almost as many major trophies (eight, not including Community Shields) as Arsenal have since the turn of the Century. 

And that is the bone of Neto’s contention. Why leave the reigning Premier League champions for a side who, while making steady progress under Mikel Arteta, choked on their own dust once again and were left wheezing on the canvas as bitter rivals Tottenham raced into the top four at their expense? 

“Gabriel Jesus went to Arsenal. A small team,” says a clearly baffled Neto. “Smaller than Portuguesa Santista (a local team playing in Sao Paulo).” 

Will Gabriel Jesus regret leaving Man City for Arsenal?

Neto, who wore the famous number ten shirt for Brazil at the 1991 Copa America, goes even further. Jesus, he suggests, is fortunate to still be a regular feature of Tite’s Selecao squad. He’s scored just one international goal since 2019 after all. 

“Who do you think is going to the World Cup; Him or Gabigol?” Neto adds, comparing Arsenal’s new number nine with a striker who has hit the target 150 times in the last five club seasons back home in Brazil.

“Gabigol has been scoring goals for years. Look what he won at Flamengo. People say he didn’t play at Inter Milan, at Benfica, but so what?”

After weeks of speculation – and a brief dalliance with Tottenham Hotspur – Jesus was finally unveiled as an Arsenal player this week. He arrives for £45 million, and will reunite with former Man City assistant coach Mikel Arteta in North London. 

Question marks remain, however, about where Jesus fits into Arteta’s plans.

The four-time Premier League winner has spoken openly about his preference for a wider role; One that gives him the freedom to drift around the final third and make regular runs into the channels. But while Arsenal are overloaded with talented wingers, from Bukayo Saka to Gabriel Martinelli, Arteta doesn’t exactly have a bucketload of centre-forwards to play with.