Former England striker Darren Bent has suggested that Arsenal should sell Gabriel Jesus in the next transfer window to boost their transfer funds for new attacking talent.
The Brazilian forward, who has been on the sidelines with a serious knee injury since January and has frequently struggled with fitness issues, has not delivered as expected following his £45million move from Manchester City in 2022.
Jesus, who still has two years remaining on his contract, only managed to net seven times and contribute two assists over 27 outings this season. It’s no secret that the Gunners are scouring the market for a new top-class striker as they face squad depth challenges highlighted by injuries to Jesus and Kai Havertz.
Arsenal have been linked with names such as Alexander Isak of Newcastle, RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, and Viktor Gyokeres of Sporting CP. Manager Mikel Arteta has hinted at a busy summer ahead, with the Spaniard keen to strengthen the team’s front line.
The Gunners need to sell to be able to afford a top-quality centre-forward and Bent believes Jesus is the most obvious option to offload. He said on talkSPORT: “Gabriel Jesus. He’s got to go. I think he will be the first to go, Gabriel Jesus. Because when I think of the left side, it’s [Leandro] Trossard and [Gabriel] Martinelli.
“You keep Trossard for an option off the bench, but not as a starter; he plays too many minutes. You’ve got Trossard and Martinelli on the left.
“Centre-forward, you’ve got Havertz at the minute and Gabriel Jesus. Gabriel Jesus can go. On the right, you’ve got [Bukayo] Saka and [Ethan] Nwaneri. It’s that centre-forward role, I think, that needs to be looked at.”
Despite frequent defences from Arteta against criticism aimed at Jesus over his goal tally – with only three in 17 top-flight matches this term – the Gunners boss recognises the need for an aggressive transfer strategy to bridge the significant points distance to Liverpool in the upcoming 2025/26 campaign.
“It’s going to be a big one and we are very excited about it,” Arteta said. “When you are going to go again, we want to increase the depth of the squad and the quality and the skills that we need to go to the next step.
“Every summer is big because it is an opportunity and especially because of the number of players we have in the squad right now that is necessary. But it’s a big summer for many things because first of all we have to maintain the good foundations that we have and then obviously how can we improve and evolve the team.”
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- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
