A pundit has surprisingly called the Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal transfer better than Erling Haaland’s switch to Manchester City.
Arsenal spent £45million to sign Jesus from City in July. He arrived at the Emirates to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. Aubameyang had left for Barcelona in January, while Lacazette went back to Lyon on July 1.
Arsenal officials thought Jesus would be the final piece of the puzzle for Mikel Arteta as part of their aim of getting back into the Champions League. And the Brazilian has looked right at home in north London.
Following some exceptional goals in pre-season, he notched his first competitive Arsenal goals against Leicester on August 13 by bagging a brace. Jesus also notched two assists in that match as Arsenal ran out 4-2 winners.
Jesus has since registered an assist against Bournemouth and goals against Aston Villa and Brentford. His impressive start to the season has helped Arsenal reach the top of the Premier League table. They are one point ahead of Pep Guardiola’s City, who occupy second place.
Jesus was far from the only big striker move in the summer. Darwin Nunez went to Liverpool, while City captured Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.
Nunez has struggled at times but is seen as more of a work in progress by Jurgen Klopp. In contrast, it is Haaland who has stolen the show.
The Norwegian forward has hit an incredible 14 goals in just 10 appearances for City so far this campaign. That includes consecutive hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest in the league.
Haaland is already five goals ahead of Harry Kane and Aleksandar Mitrovic in the Prem scoring charts. He will undoubtedly win the Golden Boot if he continues his form and avoids any serious injuries.
Agbonlahor prefers Gabriel Jesus move to Haaland’s
Despite this, former Aston Villa star Gabby Agbonlahor thinks Jesus’ move is better than Haaland’s.
During an interview with talkSPORT, the pundit said: “Best signing is Gabriel Jesus for me. Haaland has been outstanding but City have always done well.
“They’ve done well without Haaland, they’ve scored ridiculous goals without Haaland.
“Gabriel Jesus has turned Arsenal into something else. They’ve got a striker now who doesn’t labour when he’s pressing defenders.”
It’s easy to see where Agbonlahor is coming from. While Arsenal look rejuvenated with Jesus up front, City already won the league title last season without having a true number nine.
However, it is impossible to look past Haaland’s goals when considering who has been the best summer signing. At his current scoring rate he could eclipse the 32 goals Mo Salah bagged for Liverpool in the 2017/18 campaign.
Haaland is also doing it in other competitions, much to the benefit of City. He has found the net three times in just two Champions League outings, helping Guardiola’s men go top of Group G.
One of the main reasons for his signing is to help City finally end their Champions League disappointment. And if he remains this confident in the final third then it will be hard to bet against them winning Europe’s elite club competition.
The 22-year-old is also getting amongst the goals on the international stage. He bagged against Slovenia last night, though Norway ended up losing 2-1.