Gabriel Jesus joins Barcelona
Grabiel Jesus new player of FC Brcelona during the LaLiga EA Sports 2026/27 match between FC Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano de Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou on August 31, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Gabriel Jesus joined Barcelona for a fee of £8.6 million.
The Brazilian spent four seasons on the books of the first team at Arsenal, where he had made an immediate impact in the frontline. However, he suffered a major knee injury less than five months into his time with the club, and physical problems have plagued him in the years that followed.
Mikel Arteta eventually entrusted Kai Havertz to be the central forward in the second half of the 2023/24 season, and a purple patch at the end of the year for Jesus was cut short by an ACL injury.
Jesus returned to the field in December 2025 after almost 11 months on the sidelines, but minutes remained thin on the ground as he was behind Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres in the pecking order.
Mikel Merino even established himself as a credible makeshift striker during the spring of 2025, and it was no surprise to see Jesus only earn three Premier League starts in the second half of last season.
·Why have Barcelona bought Jesus?
Though it did not appear that Jesus was pushing for an exit, Arsenal have eased him to the fringes of the squad. The forward was not in the Community Shield squad for the 3-0 win against Manchester City and the 3-0 victory over Coventry City on the opening Premier League matchday. Then, in his pre-match presser for the Aston Villa game, Arteta indicated cogs were moving behind the scenes.
“[Jesus’ absence from training] is something to do with the numbers that we have in the squad at the moment and the way we're managing that kind of situation individually with all the players - they have some personal situations.
“I'm very satisfied with how these conversations went because I know what is in each other's hearts, and the words that come through in those conversations make me really happy. But it's inevitable at some point you need to have certain discussions and say certain things that sometimes are tough.”
Engineering an exit for the player has always relied on the possibility of offloading his healthy salary package. The 29-year-old earned £265,000 per week on his contract, so any deal would likely have to involve a significant loss from the £45 million outlay the Gunners invested into his services in 2022.
Barcelona offered a solution in their search for a forward. Robert Lewandowski is playing for Chicago Fire and Ferran Torres has signed for Paris Saint-Germain. Julian Alvarez has been eager to move to Catalonia, but Atletico Madrid refuse to permit him to join their LaLiga rivals.
The Blaugrana might still seek to pick up the Argentine attacker, who is three years younger than Jesus, but the former Arsenal forward provides their squad another central option in the short-term.
Meanwhile, Arsenal accept that the chapter had to close with a player whose flame fizzled out quicker than first projected, thanking Jesus for his role in their resurgence to the top of the table.