Manchester City feature heavily in a fresh Gabriel Jesus interview with Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte.
The Arsenal striker spent five-and-a-half seasons under Pep Guardiola and spoke at length about the manager’s influence, his intensity and the challenges that shaped him during his time at the Etihad.
Guardiola’s intensity and impact
Jesus did not hesitate when asked how he describes Guardiola to friends. “Intense. He is intense,” he said.
Pressed on whether that was positive or negative, he insisted: “For the good. For the good of football. Considering him like a father, I believe it’s not great for his health, because nothing in excess is good. He is so intense that he goes past the limit, but that is also his biggest quality. He is intense in everything, and that’s why he is a genius.”
He recalled how Guardiola drilled the smallest details into him during his early months in Manchester. “Brazilians arrive young with habits, that’s normal. I controlled the ball with the sole of my foot because I played futsal. He stopped training to correct things. Then it becomes automatic. It makes sense.”
The demanding daily routine under Pep
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola is a Catalan professional football manager and former player from Spain who has been the manager of Premier League club Manchester City. New York, US – 07 July 2025
Jesus admitted the workload under Guardiola stretched players mentally and physically. “Some days you feel tired mentally from the training demands, the videos, the information. But you reap the rewards at the end of the season. You arrive fighting for titles.”
Despite the exhaustion that sometimes came with Guardiola’s perfectionism, Jesus said the environment was simply the level required at a top club. The high demand never felt unfair to him, only part of elite football.
Tactical adaptation and the positional game
One of the most revealing parts of the interview concerned his adaptation to Guardiola’s positional play.
Jesus said the challenge was not the style itself, but understanding the right moments to move or stay. “Sometimes there is no reason for me to drop to the goalkeeper to get the ball. Sometimes I need to stay on the last line. When I say I don’t want to stay still, I mean not staying 90 minutes stuck up front.”
“He never asked me to do that. But he did ask me to stay higher at times because the ball would come. When it didn’t arrive for a while, I dropped, and he didn’t complain. He knew it was part of my game to create, dribble and combine”, he explained.
The emotional moment that almost pushed him to leave
KHARKIV, UKRAINE – September 18, 2019: Portrait Gabriel Jesus celebrate goal scored close up during the UEFA Champions League match between Shakhtar vs Manchester City, Ukraine
Jesus also revisited a famous story that marked his period at Manchester City – the day he trained all week as a starter but was dropped on matchday for Zinchenko as a false nine. “I cried that day,” he admitted in earlier interviews, and he confirmed again that the episode made him consider leaving.
Here, though, he made a point of separating that frustration from his relationship with Guardiola. “He helped me a lot,” Jesus said. “Gratitude is one of my biggest virtues. He called me, he asked for me, he took me there. He helped me evolve. I think I did very well at City. I didn’t leave because of problems with Guardiola or the club. I left because I felt it was time.”
He described their encounters today with affection. “When I meet him, we hug. He kisses my face, we talk. We rarely talk about football. It’s more about family. You can see he cares. And I care a lot about him too. I always root for him. Just not when he plays against us, obviously.”
A Manchester City chapter that shaped him
For Manchester City supporters, Jesus’ reflections underline how significant his Etihad years were in his development. The intensity, the demands and the tactical education under Guardiola still influence how he plays at Arsenal.
His words make clear that the relationship between manager and player remains built on mutual respect, even after their paths diverged.