Gabriel Jesus is delighted to be on the books at Barcelona.
The Brazilian fell out of favour as a central forward for Arsenal, especially after he suffered an ACL injury against Manchester United. The setback saw him sit on the sidelines for almost eleven months, Mikel Merino became a makeshift striker in the absence of Kai Havertz, and the board backed Mikel Arteta with the acquisition of Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting in the summer window.
·‘I am 100% ready to play and give my all’
Returning to action in December 2025, Jesus only played three times in the Premier League during the first five months of 2026 as the Gunners won the Premier League title.
He was not agitating to exit the club, with a year left on his contract, but circumstances compelled the Blaugrana to buy him.
Why Barcelona turned to Jesus
Ferran Torres and Robert Lewandowski left Catalonia, and Julian Alvarez is stuck at Atletico Madrid. He might not have been the most desired option, but Jesus is still happy to be at Barcelona.
“I took a significant salary drop, but it’s a dream to be here. But it wasn’t just me who had to make an effort to get the transfer over line, Barca also played their part. If you had asked me one month ago, I would have said it was unlikely this would happen.
“At 29, I didn’t think I would have the chance to come to Barca. A week ago, I received a message that it could happen. When I started to think it was a real possibility, I was so excited. Now I can’t wait to start training and playing.
Plan B tag does not bother him
“It doesn’t annoy me [being Plan B to Alvarez], it doesn’t bother me. What annoys me is if people say I’m a bad guy, which has never happened in my life – or if I am not playing football, that bothers me.
“The last two years have been really complicated after the knee injury.
“I was out of the game for almost one year, but it’s in the past. I feel good physically now. I recovered well, returned to action for Arsenal and I am 100% ready to play and give my all.”