Arsenal sold a number of notable players during the summer window.
Gabriel Martinelli departed for Al Hilal in a club-record £60million sale, while Leandro Trossard joined Besiktas for around £17million after three productive years in north London. Fabio Vieira completed a permanent move to Hamburg, where he has already become a fan favourite. And Reiss Nelson, who was the longest-serving player at the club, had his contract mutually terminated and joined Feyenoord.
Also late in the window, Gabriel Jesus got a move to Barcelona for around £8.6million, four years after joining from Manchester City for £45million. The manner of his exit generated some noise, with Jesus claiming he had been unexpectedly forced to train separately before his departure, something Mikel Arteta said he was ‘very surprised’ by. It wasn’t the smoothest of exits, which is a shame.
A graphic reading: "Which player will Arsenal most regret not signing?!" Image shows Morgan Rogers, Julian Alvarez, Vinicius Jr and Victor Osimhen.
Credit: Getty Images/Jacques Feeney/Offside/Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP/Diego Souto/Ahmad Mora
Nonetheless, he seems to be enjoying life at Barcelona, and why wouldn’t he? His manager Hansi Flick has been impressed enough to hand Jesus his first potential start for the club this weekend, with Raphinha unavailable through injury for the La Liga clash with Getafe.
Speaking ahead of the game, Flick had some positive words for the former Arsenal striker. “He has improved a lot and adapted to our style. He has trained very well over the last three weeks and he’s ready.”
Jesus has made his limited minutes count since arriving in Catalonia. He scored on his Champions League debut against Feyenoord, flicking home Lamine Yamal’s cross to complete a 5-1 win. He then struck again against Racing Santander, coming off the bench and scoring within ten minutes of his introduction. Now, he is set for an opportunity from the start.
Barcelona had initially pursued Julian Alvarez as their preferred striking option before turning to Jesus as a lower-cost alternative. Arsenal, of course, were among those chasing Alvarez too, but the player has his heart set on a dream move to the Catalan club.
As for Jesus, he will be raring to make the most of his opportunity.