Per Mertesacker has told Sky Sports that signing Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City early in the summer window showed Arsenal have the ‘right argument’ to convince top players.
The Gunners paid the Citizens £45m earlier in July to take Jesus from the reigning Premier League champions. He has moved to north London on a five-year deal to help Mikel Arteta replace the goals he lost by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette leaving.
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Arsenal allowed Aubameyang to join Barcelona in January after paying the Gabon forward £7m to tear up his £350k-a-week contract, per The Times. Lacazette, meanwhile, left the Emirates Stadium to re-join Lyon for free after his £182k-a-week deal expired on June 30.
Jesus now has the task of leading Arteta’s attack with Eddie Nketiah, following the Arsenal product signing a new contract until 2027. The Brazilian has also made a strong start to his Gunners career after scoring twice on debut in a pre-season friendly against FC Nurnberg.
Arteta introduced Jesus from the bench whilst 2-0 down, before he struck home from an acute angle soon after. The Arsenal boss will now hope his new signing maintains his form into the season, after Jesus offered eight goals and nine assists in the last top-flight term.
Mertesacker hails key factors in Jesus signing that prove Arsenal pull this summer
Arsenal academy manager Mertesacker feels the Gunners signing Jesus from Manchester City early in the window also shows the north London outfit are acting in the right fashion when negotiating potential transfers to strengthen Arteta’s squad in the summer market.
The German has also backed the Brazilian to help his former side secure qualification into the Champions League, having walked away from one that reached the final in 2020/21.
“The way that we could convince him to come fairly early in the transfer window, not waiting too long, I think we were proactive,” Mertesacker explained.
“We are making our points clear to the player, his family and his agent and, by the looks of it, we have got the right argument and players are willing to come to us to bring us back to the Champions League where we belong.”
Arsenal missed out on Champions League qualification to north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur by just two points last season. Spurs pipped the Gunners to fourth with 71 points from 22 wins and five draws over Arteta’s men on 69 points from 22 wins and three draws.
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