Arsenal Closing In On £50m Deal On Signing Gabriel Jesus

Arsenal are on the verge of sealing a deal for Manchester City and Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus.

The North London club have been linked with Jesus for much of the summer so far.

The arrival of Erling Haaland at the Etihad has placed his future in serious doubt after six years with the Premier League champions.

Jesus’ availability has generated lots of interest, with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Champions League winners Real Madrid among the teams understood to hold an interest.

But the Times reported that it is Arsenal who look to be winning the race, with club chiefs now confident they can strike a deal for the player.

City are holding out for around £50million, the report claims, and while Arsenal have only bid around £30m so far, they are expected to push their offer closer to City’s asking price.

Jesus is eager to move to the Emirates and is keen to work with manager Mikel Arteta again, it continues.

The pair worked together at the Etihad when Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager and have a good understanding.

In turn, Arteta has made Jesus one of his ‘priority’ transfer targets and is no longer concerned than the player will snub them because of their lack of Champions League football.

Arsenal are desperate to bring in some reinforcements up front after losing Alexandre Lacazette on a free transfer to Lyon, while they offloaded Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Barcelona in January.

There have also been fears Eddie Nketiah could walk out on his boyhood club – with his name being included on a list of players being released this summer.