How Gabriel Jesus' Arsenal career went from unbelievable to unfortunate

Gabriel Jesus departed Arsenal on transfer deadline day as he joined Barcelona to bring an end to his four-year spell in North London.

The Brazilian signed for the Gunners from Premier League rivals Manchester City in 2022 and he enjoyed the perfect start to life with a brilliant run of form in front of goal, but that soon changed and it went downhill for him from there.

His time at the Emirates Stadium was very much a case of hero to zero with his Arsenal career spiralling from being completely unbelievable to quite unfortunate.

How Gabriel Jesus' Arsenal career went from unbelievable to unfortunate

When Jesus left Man City, he was a four-time Premier League champion but found his career coming to a major changing point as Erling Haaland's inevitable arrival meant he was well out of a chance of being Pep Guardiola's starting striker.

That's where Arsenal came in. As the Brazilian bid farewell to the Etihad Stadium, the Gunners swooped in to secure his signature for £45million, handing him the number nine shirt recently vacated by Alexandre Lacazette, and the opportunity to be the club's first-choice up front.

Jesus' main aim with Mikel Arteta's side was to help get them back into the Champions League. Missing out on fourth place the season before meant the Gunners had gone six years without qualifying for Europe's premier competition and the 2022/23 campaign was seen as the final opportunity to reach that height once again.

Arsenal did achieve that, but they also did something no one expected them to, battle for the league title. Jesus helped kickstart the challenge with five goals in his first nine league games, putting in a number of brilliant performances to prompt Gooners to think their side had signed an absolute gem who could deliver a trophy.

Reality soon kicked in though and the reason City let Jesus go became clear. He suffered a tremendous drop in form in front of goal and after his fifth strike came in a 3-1 win over North London rivals Tottenham, he went 12 games without finding the back of the net before heading to the 2022 World Cup with Brazil.

He appeared in all three of his nation's group matches, but he suffered a knee injury that proved to be devastating for him as he missed the next four months of action, not returning until March 2023.

Upon his comeback, Jesus found form again, netting six times in the Gunners' final 12 games of the term, but it wasn't enough as they failed to win the league, slipping up in the run-in to hand Man City the league title.

The Brazilian remained with Arsenal for the following season and with him back to full fitness, there was plenty of hope that he could fire his side to glory, but he was faced with another setback before the campaign even began, suffering another knee injury that kept him out for the first three games.

He scored his first goal of the term in a 3-1 win against Manchester United, running through on goal before flooring a sliding Diogo Dalot and converting past André Onana deep into stoppage time to seal the victory.

Jesus impressed in his side's return to the Champions League, scoring in each of their first four games, but he soon stumbled once again and a mixture of inconsistency, further fitness issues and new signing Kai Havertz being preferred up front meant he ended the season with only eight goals in 36 appearances.

After the Gunners failed to win the league for the second year running despite going even closer, missing out by an agonising two points, they were tipped to finally end their wait to win the league with Jesus one of their main attacking options once again.

Despite staying fit for much of the first half of the season, he failed to score his first goal until October when he netted in a 3-0 Carabao Cup victory at Preston North End. That competition seemed to bring out the best in Jesus as he scored a hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the following round to kickstart somewhat of a redemption arc.

He seemed to hit a mini run of form as he struck twice more against the Eagles just days later in the league before netting in a win over Brentford too, but it came to yet another disastrous and abrupt end when he suffered another injury.

Jesus started in a third round FA Cup tie against Man United, but he was withdrawn after 40 minutes due to an issue that was later deemed to be a cruciate ligament tear. That devastating blow meant he was unavailable for selection until December 2025, when he made his return off the bench in a 3-0 win away to Club Brugge.

He managed to stay fit for the remainder of the campaign, but his chances were limited, relying on opportunities in cup competitions and as a substitute. He scored six goals in 27 appearances, with his final match and strike coming in a 2-1 season-ending win at Crystal Palace, which ended in Arsenal lifting the Premier League trophy on their fourth attempt.

That proved to be Jesus' final competitive appearance for the Gunners, ultimately ending his time at the club. He left for Barcelona having scored 32 goals and provided 22 assists in 123 matches over four seasons with Arteta's side.

Jesus showed so much promise when he joined Arsenal, but it just didn't quite work out for him. He ended his spell as a Premier League champion in red and white, but 527 days and 80 games missed due to injury prevented him from reaching the heights he was expected to at the Emirates Stadium.

His Gunners career ultimately came full circle after making his debut at Palace to start an unexpected title challenge before playing his final game and scoring his last goal at Selhurst Park ahead of lifting the league trophy. It doesn't get much better than that. Fans will be forever grateful for Jesus' contributions, but most will feel so much more could have been done.

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