Arsenal close in on Jesus, plans fresh bid for Osimhen
One of Arsenal’s problems during the past two seasons has been scoring
Arsenal are increasingly confident that they are close to agreeing on a deal to sign Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City according to The Times.
The Brazil forward wants to join Arsenal, who are expected to increase their offer which is short at present of City’s valuation of around £50 million.
Arsenal’s initial bid, made in the past week, was believed to be worth up to £30 million but they are expected to increase it to get closer to City’s valuation.
Mikel Arteta has made signing Jesus one of his priorities this summer and has overcome fears that the forward might look elsewhere after Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Jesus, 25, will enter the final year of his contract next month and has been offered to Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.
Jesus scored 13 times and managed 12 assists in all competitions for City last season, though half of that tally came in the final seven matches.
One of Arsenal’s problems during the past two seasons has been scoring.
Last season they managed only 61 goals when finishing fifth (lower than five other clubs in the league), whereas they only scored 55 goals when finishing eighth (the joint-ninth most) the previous year.
They are without a senior striker after Alexandre Lacazette’s contract expired this summer and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang left for Barcelona in January.
Jesus can play across the front three and he knows Arteta from the Arsenal manager’s time as assistant to Pep Guardiola at City. Jesus wants to leave City for regular starts given that he will play second fiddle this season to Erling Haaland, who has joined them from Borussia Dortmund. He has also scored 19 times in 56 matches for Brazil, including in a 5-1 win against South Korea a fortnight ago.
Arsenal have agreed to a long-term contract with Eddie Nketiah, who would be the backup striker to Jesus and likely start in Europa League and cup matches.
The forward, who came through the Arsenal academy, is out of contract this month and appeared destined to leave until he was given a run in the side near the end of the season after Lacazette, Arsenal’s first-choice striker, was ruled out with Covid.
The 23-year-old retained his starting place upon the Frenchman’s return, scoring five times, including twice in the 4-2 win at Chelsea in the Premier League. They were his first contributions in the competition.
Arsenal’s other issue has been creating chances and they are confident of persuading Youri Tielemans, who will enter the final year of his contract at Leicester City next month, to move to the Emirates Stadium.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are preparing to make a fresh bid for Super Eagles and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
The Gunners initial in the region of £51million rejected by Napoli earlier this month, but Osimhen is aware that his situation could change rapidly at any given moment.
"I always go out on the pitch to do my best both with the national team and with my club," said Osimhen, as reported by The Sun, when quizzed on his future prospects.
"I don’t know my future, I know anything can happen, but now I just want to go on holiday with my family, clear my head and recharge my batteries. Then we’ll take care of everything else."
The North London are reportedly preparing a fresh bid.
