Arsenal have reached an agreement with Manchester City to sign Brazilian forward Gabriel Jesus, sources from both clubs.
The deal between the two clubs was finalised late on Friday evening, with the value of the transfer set at around £45m. Although not fully agreed, Jesus is now due in north London for a medical as his representatives iron out personal terms.
Those were already being discussed and are expected to be completed over the weekend, with Jesus expected to become Arsenal’s highest paid player – earning in excess of £250,000-a-week.
City had hoped they could convince Jesus to stay and their contract offer was not far away from what he is set to collect at the Emirates Stadium.
But the Premier League champions had made it clear to Jesus that they would sell him this summer if he did not agree a new deal, and that has come to pass now Arsenal have met their valuation.
Sources close to Jesus have confirmed that the Brazilian was keen to take up ‘new opportunities’ at Arsenal and that included playing in a central role.
City boss Pep Guardiola played Jesus almost exclusively as a right forward over the past two years and the Spaniard had no plans to alter his thinking – Erling Haaland having been signed from Borussia Dortmund this summer to become the club’s first-choice striker.
That is understood to have played a big part in Jesus deciding to leave, as he believes he can lead the line through the middle. To seal Jesus’ signature, Arsenal have seen off rival interest in the Premier League, from the likes of Chelsea and Tottenham, as well as abroad – European heavyweights AC Milan, Juventus and Atletico Madrid among the sides who wanted the 25-year-old.
