Gabriel Jesus’ shirt number at Arsenal revealed as he completes medical: Reports
Gabriel Jesus will reportedly wear the No. 9 jersey at Arsenal following his transfer from Manchester City.
The Brazil international recently completed a £45 million move from the Premier League champions and has reportedly completed his medicals in north London (as per Fabrizio Romano).
A report by the Mirror reveals that the 25-year-old will inherit the jersey number nine that was recently vacated by Alexandre Lacazette. It is a number that Jesus is very familiar with, having worn it for the last three seasons at City, as well as on the international scene with Brazil.
After meeting Edu and undergoing his medical at a facility in London earlier (you've seen the pics), Gabriel Jesus has now arrived at Arsenal's training ground and will meet some of his new team-mates.
Jesus will also do his club media duties ahead of his official unveiling.
The former Palmeiras man has signed a five-year deal with Arsenal and is expected to take up the goalscoring mantle for the Gunners.
He joins the club on the back of five-and-a-half seasons at the Etihad that saw him win eight major trophies. He departs the Premier League champions having scored 95 goals and provided 46 assists in 236 matches in all competitions for the Cityzens.
However, the arrival of Erling Haaland at the club threatened his gametime, making him look for a move away to guarantee playing time. City have also signed Argentinian forward Julian Alvarez from River Plate.
Rather surprisingly, Arsenal have not had too many iconic players donning the number nine jersey in the Premier League era.
Only a handful of names have justified the legendary number. Nicolas Anelka, Paul Merson, Alexandre Lacazette and Lukas Podolski are among the few No. 9s to make a mark for the Gunners.
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Gabriel Jesus hugs Edu ahead of completing his £45m transfer from Manchester City to Arsenal. 🇧🇷 #AFC https://t.co/QR9Q5nYhHH
What can Arsenal fans expect from Gabriel Jesus?
Arsenal headed into the summer transfer window with doubts hanging over their strike force.
The Gunners lost the services of former captain Pierre-Americk Aubameyang in January as he left for Barcelona, while Lacazette is set to join Lyon on a free transfer when his contract expires at the end of June.
This left Eddie Nketiah as the only recognized centre-forward in the first team, with the 23-year-old having recently signed a contract extension.
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Official. It’s over between Arsenal and Alexandre Lacazette, the club now confirms his departure on a free transfer this summer. 🚨🇫🇷 #AFC
Lacazette has already reached verbal agreement with OL - his return to Lyon is now imminent. https://t.co/TrLJZx9Eif
Gabriel Jesus' arrival at the Emirates could help mitigate some of the concerns in attack. The former Palmeiras man might not be the most high-profile striker in the world, but he has a decent record in front of goal.
He has also proven himself on the biggest stages and is an established regular for Brazil. He brings a winning mentality into the Gunners dressing room and this experience could prove invaluable as Mikel Arteta attempts to build a winning squad in north London.