Barcelona’s Gabriel Jesus experience is looking familiar to Arsenal fans

Whenever any player leaves a club, there are always a few dissenting voices questioning whether or not this was the right move. Rightly, many have posited if Arsenal were right to sell both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, replaced only by Christos Tzolis.

However, there has not been one mention of Gabriel Jesus, despite the Gunners' lack of potency in attack, alongside his form since departing. On deadline day, the Brazilian joined Barcelona for around €10 million, following the Blaugrana's failed attempt to recruit Julián Álvarez from Atlético Madrid.

Well, this has to date looked like a very astute move from Joan Laporta. Already, Jesus has scored four times for Barça, heading home on debut against Feyenoord in the Champions League, subsequently on target during La Liga wins over Racing Santander, Getafe and Real Betis.

Having spent just 286 minutes on the pitch for his new club, he is currently averaging a goal every 71 minutes. Jesus has only started twice, very much deputy to compatriot Raphinha, who has reinvented himself as a centre-forward, scoring a ridiculous 19 times already this season in just 14 games.

Despite his limited minutes, site expert at Everything Barça Parag J Kalita has hailed Jesus' impact at Camp Nou:

"Jesus has been a decent squad player so far. He hasn’t been extraordinary but with very few minutes and little pressure on him, as long as he remains fit he can be considered a decent signing."

Parag J Kalita, Everything Barça expert

Considering his injury issues, a super sub role is probably ideal for Jesus, who did make 27 appearances for Arsenal last season, albeit these racked up less than 1,000 minutes. Nevertheless, this is a story Arsenal fans will be familiar with.

When he first arrived from Manchester City, for a brief period of time, Jesus was sensational. In the first 14 Premier League matches of that season, as Arsenal won 12, Jesus scored five goals and registered six assists, starting every match.

However, after suffering the first of his horrible knee injuries against Cameroon at the World Cup in Lusail, he was never the same player again. By the end, as one of the club's highest earners, Andrea Berta was just desperate to get him off the wage bill, with the fee Barça paid a bonus.

Similarly, when he first arrived at Man City from Palmeiras in January 2017, Jesus scored 13 goals in his first 17 Premier League appearances, form he was of course unable to sustain. Thus, the pattern suggests this will not last at Barcelona but, still only 29 years old, let's hope for his sake it does.

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