Gabriel Jesus admits he told Arsenal he wanted to only play as a Number Nine

Gabriel Jesus, despite his versatility, only wants to be our striker. That was the deal, according to the Brazilian, when he chose to leave Manchester City and join us in the summer of 2022.

This season, the Brazilian has mostly played as a winger. Mikel Arteta has been forced to change his forward line game after game due to injury concerns for our attackers. It is because of this situation that Jesus has played on the left flank in Gabriel Martinelli’s absence and on the right wing in Bukayo Saka’s absence. Our No. 9 has dazzled in these positions, but when questioned if he enjoys playing them, he hints that he doesn’t since he wants to play as our striker.

As per the Evening Standard, the Brazilian said while on international duty, “It’s worth pointing out that I’ve been playing a lot of roles at Arsenal.

“Obviously, when I chose to move from City to Arsenal, Edu and Arteta spoke to me, and I made it clear that I’d like to play 9. That was Arsenal’s idea for me to play 9, loose.

“This season has been different; we’ve had injuries, and in the last few games, we’ve played three up front. For a while, I thought I’d just say I wanted to play 9, but I’m here to help the team. I’m blessed by God to have this talent and the versatility to play in all three forward positions. I prefer not to choose.”

Jesus will need to start being efficient in front of goal once everyone is fit and he returns to playing in the No. 9 position. He’ll need to score more. There’s talk of signing a super-striker, but who knows? He might persuade Mikel Arteta not to do so.

Do you believe Gabriel Jesus will lead our attack in the long run, whatever position he is used in?