Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus arrived at FC Barcelona from Arsenal with little time to settle and even less time to prepare properly.
Signed late in the summer window after the club’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez failed to materialise, the Brazilian was brought in for around €10 million and immediately added to Hansi Flick’s attacking options. His early impact has been encouraging, with two goals in limited minutes, but the next stage of his adaptation is likely to be more important than the first few appearances.
According to [AS](https://as.com/futbol/primera/un-ticket-regalo-para-gabriel-jesus-f202609-n/), Jesus is using the international break to work on his fitness and improve his understanding of Flick’s system rather than treating the period as an extended rest and that decision is significant given the circumstances surrounding his move.
Jesus had spent much of the previous year recovering from a serious knee injury and was not a regular part of Arsenal’s plans before leaving London. He has repeatedly insisted that the knee is no longer a problem, and his performances so far have supported that claim, but recovering full match rhythm after such a disrupted period is a different challenge altogether.
Barcelona’s style also places specific demands on its forwards. Flick expects intensity without the ball, sharp movement between the lines and an ability to interchange positions at speed. For a striker joining late in the window, those details can take time to absorb.
The current break therefore offers Jesus something close to a delayed pre-season as he has been working with the club’s fitness staff and using individual sessions to close the gap physically and tactically. The timing could prove important because Barcelona are about to enter one of the most demanding stretches of their season.
Matches against Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid are among those waiting after the break, and Flick will need more than his preferred starting XI to navigate that run successfully and that is where Jesus could become increasingly valuable.
He may have arrived as an economical late-window solution, but his ability to play centrally, press aggressively and contribute in short bursts gives Barcelona another option in attack. The next few weeks will show whether this period of extra work can turn him from a useful squad addition into a player Flick trusts regularly.