Manchester City reveal asking price for Gabriel Jesus amid Arsenal links: Reports
Manchester City have reportedly slapped a £40 million price tag on Gabriel Jesus, with speculation growing that Arsenal are interested in signing the forward.
The 25-year-old has been in sparkling form and has scored seven times in his five previous starts while playing as a centre-forward for Pep Guardiola's side.
However, with The Mail reporting that Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland is set to join the Cityzens in the summer, Jesus will find opportunities even harder to come by at Manchester City.
Gabriel Jesus has 3 goals and 1 assist in 3 appearances against Real Madrid. https://t.co/re6S78zNYV
The Brazilian international has played 37 times this season. He has started just over 50% of City's Premier League games despite being the only recognized centre-forward at the Etihad.
As reported in The Mirror, via Football.London, City are ready to sell Jesus to fund the Haaland deal, with Arsenal making him their number one summer transfer target.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta worked with the forward during his time as Guardiola's assistant manager and is said to be a huge admirer of Gabriel Jesus.
However, one stumbling block may be Jesus' desire to play Champions League football next season, which Arsenal are still far from certain to achieve. The Gunners currently lie in fourth place, just two points above arch-rivals Tottenham, with four games to go this term.
Arsenal are desperate to sign a striker this summer, with their current centre-forwards Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette both out of contract in June.
Gabriel Jesus: "Arteta is a fantastic guy and fantastic manager, He helped a lot of players here. When I want to do finishing after training, I tell him and he comes and help me."
Absolutely Fantastic😍 https://t.co/00PTqKaoRl
De Bruyne comments on Manchester City teammate amid Arsenal transfer rumors
Jesus joined City from Palmeiras in January 2017 and was expected to be the heir to legendary forward Sergio Aguero.
However, despite scoring 95 goals in 232 games for the club, the forward has never nailed down a consistent first-team place during his time in English football. His recent goal rush began with his team's 5-1 victory over Watford, in which Jesus netted four times.
Teammate Kevin De Bruyne gave up penalty duties to allow Jesus to complete his hat-trick on the day. Commenting on the relationship the pair have, the midfielder said as per The Metro:
"He’s been amazing. Since he came here, I’ve had a good relationship with him, I think we’ve found each other lots of times. He plays with so much energy, he’s always there, he helps the team out."
"I have never any doubts on his quality and he’s still so young. I hope he can play many times with me because I think he makes this team better."
Gabriel Jesus after being linked with Arsenal https://t.co/P2xDod9J0M