Barcelona signs Gabriel Jesus as an emergency striker after the agreement with Arsenal

It is not the desired nine. It's not Julián Álvarez. But Barcelona had him on the radar and, in the last few hours, decided to activate the Gabriel Jesus route, who will arrive in Barcelona tomorrow from Arsenal after closing the transfer with the London club in an operation that will be around 10 million euros, more variable depending on the games played and the titles won. The proposed agreement would be for two seasons plus an optional one, depending on the club's will and the player's performance.

Gabriel Jesus is a forward who has always had Barça in mind since he was able to land at the Camp Nou in 2016. He will do so ten years later, converted into a market opportunity when his contract with Arsenal ends in 2027. A 29-year-old emergency nine that, in no case, eliminates the desire to sign Julián Álvarez from Flick and Deco's plans.

But, for now, that operation is impossible due to Atlético's intransigence. And, after the departure of Robert Lewandowski (scorer of 19 goals last season), the departure of Ferran Torres to PSG (21 goals) and the non-renewal of Marcus Rashford's loan (14 goals), action had to be taken.

The Brazilian attacker was already on Barça's radar in 2016, before the Manchester club acquired his services. With the English team, then managed by Pep Guardiola, he scored 95 goals in 236 games. In 2022 he packed his bags and moved to London. With Arsenal he has scored 32 goals in 123 games. Last year, in the shadow of Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyökeres, he had little prominence: six goals and two assists in 27 games (988 minutes). His prominence was diminishing, in part, due to his injury history.

January 12, 2025 is a date that the footballer does not want to remember. He left Arsenal-Manchester United in tears. The diagnosis was harsh: rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee. He was out for 11 months and missed 46 games. That was the third serious injury of his career.

The first came in January 2018, when he suffered a sprain of the collateral ligament in his right knee. He was out for 55 days and missed 12 games with Manchester City, although he did not have to undergo surgery.

The second injury that marked his career occurred in Brazil-Cameroon (1-0) at the World Cup in Qatar, on December 2, 2022. Gabriel Jesus had to undergo surgery after suffering a torn meniscus and a partial injury to the collateral ligament in his right knee. By then he was already an Arsenal player and was facing his first season in London. After the operation and after missing 17 games, he returned to the playing fields three months later.

The Brazilian arrives at Barça with Flick's approval to provide experience, mobility and the ability to play as a center forward, but also to move to the wingers: a pure nine, a finisher to complete the squad. And, above all, a forward motivated to feel like a footballer again in a club he always wanted to join. For this reason, this summer he rejected an offer to go to Naples. The club's final bet is on a present profile that adds up and, above all, does not prevent the club from trying again in January to sign Julián Álvarez, a forward of the present and the future.