Mikel Arteta has confirmed Arsenal have no intention of selling Gabriel Jesus in the January transfer window, insisting the Brazilian still has much to offer after his return from injury.
Jesus made his comeback on Wednesday night, coming off the bench in Arsenal's 3-0 victory over Club Brugge, his first appearance since January. The 27-year-old impressed during his 30-minute cameo, hitting the crossbar with one effort, but speculation had linked him with a move away given his contract situation.
With Jesus set to have just 18 months left on his deal in January, and with Kai Havertz, Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres also competing for the striker role, questions had been raised over his future. However, Arteta dismissed any suggestion of a sale, saying: “I don’t consider that, especially with the situation we have right now. I think Gabby has a lot to offer to the team - and he has proven that straight away, in the first minutes that he was available to play. He has put so much to be in this position again and now the focus is to be with us.”
Jesus replaced Gyokeres in midweek, with the Swedish forward drawing a blank on his first start since early November after recovering from a hamstring injury. Gyokeres, who joined from Sporting for over £60million in the summer, has scored six goals for Arsenal, and Arteta is confident the best is yet to come.
“I think we have to put the player in the best possible condition to explode and fulfil his potential,” said Arteta. “More important are the connections and the players around him. Before the injury I think he was in a great place. It took him a while at the beginning, because it was a different league, different demands and he had no pre-season. Now he is starting to get again some momentum. The goals will come and we are going to be very pleased with him.”
