Gabriel Jesus has pushed back against the idea he’s constantly injured, after fitness concerns played a part in Barcelona’s long hesitation over signing him from Arsenal.
The Brazilian eventually left the Gunners late in the summer window, joining Barcelona for €10m (£8.7m) plus bonuses. And he’s since made a promising start in Spain, scoring twice in his first four matches.
Now Jesus was directly confronted with one of the doubts which followed him from Arsenal to his new club: his injury record.
“My injuries were long – it’s different”
Speaking to journalist Achraf Ben Ayad, he makes clear there’s an important distinction being missed.
“People are going to talk about the injuries because it’s normal,” Jesus said. “My last two years had problems, but in my final season I had an injury which kept me out for a year. After that I didn’t have any more problems.”
“Sometimes it seems like I’m always injured, injured, and that’s not the case. My injuries were long ones. That’s different.”
So Jesus isn’t denying the fitness problems which disrupted the latter part of his time in north London. He just argues that a few lengthy absences have created the impression he’s repeatedly picking up injuries.
But there’s some interesting context to those comments from Barcelona’s side. We covered last month that Jesus had been offered to the Catalan club repeatedly over a period of around nine months – he was injured during most of that time.
Even when the possibility returned in the summer, they initially showed so little interest that they didn’t approach Arsenal to establish the conditions for a transfer.
Early Barcelona form helping his argument
Everything changed late in August. Barcelona couldn’t land their preferred target Julián Álvarez and eventually returned for Jesus. Arsenal’s willingness to sell for €10m (£8.7m) helped get the deal done quickly.
Those previous concerns over his physical condition didn’t disappear, though. It was a doubt whether Jesus could rediscover the fitness and form which Barcelona had questioned since late 2025.
Four games obviously aren’t enough to settle that debate, but two goals certainly represent a decent start.
Either way, Jesus sounds pretty happy with the move.
“I’m at a great team, a huge club with a lot of history,” he said. “Many Brazilian legends have played here.”
“Since I was a kid, I watched Barça playing in the Champions League. So, of course, I’m very much in love with the club.”
After the way his final months at Arsenal played out, Jesus now has the minutes he wanted and a chance to challenge the perception which followed him out of England.
His argument is simple enough: he has suffered serious injuries, but that doesn’t mean “he’s always injured”.
Sport Witness