Arsenal were 'offered' the chance to sign the PSG star but pursued £45m 'priority' Edu instead
According to reports, Arsenal were 'offered' the chance to buy PSG striker Mauro Icardi earlier this summer, but they opted to sign Gabriel Jesus instead.
The Gunners failed in the top four race last season, as they finished two points behind rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Mikel Arteta's side are looking to get started and they've been busy in the transfer market this summer. They spent around £120m to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira.
Transfer gossip: Arsenal could offer Tielemans partial departure, Liverpool star reportedly leaves for £19m
Arsenal also brought in Jesus from Manchester City for a fee of around £45million. He proved himself in pre-season, scoring four goals in four friendlies.
Had they been unable to sign Jesus, Arsenal could have opted to sign Mauro Icardi from PSG. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has revealed the French giants 'offered' the striker to Arsenal a few months ago.
Icardi has had a difficult season in 2021/22, having only started in Ligue 1 ten times. He has scored five goals in 30 appearances in total.
Jesus seems like a much better signing, with Romano acknowledging the Brazilian was Edu's 'priority' this summer:
"Arsenal had many opportunities which they turned down, but it happens every day at all top clubs," Romano explained (via Caught Offside). p>
"For example, Mauro Icardi was an option offered to the club in recent months and it was decided not to continue as they were looking for a different striker, Edu always had Gabriel Jesus in mind as a priority.
"Sometimes the refusal is for technical reasons, other times for economic reasons."
Former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre thinks Jesus will give Arteta more options in attacking areas:
“They are still a young group of players with little experience in the Premier League in terms of games, and they are also a young manager. But they seem to be on the right track,” Silvestre told < em>888 Sport.
"Jesus will be number nine, although a lot of teams don't play what you might call a good old-fashioned number nine anymore. That's not a problem because the guy is so mobile and we have seen against Chelsea that he likes to come out to the right. He has the ability to swerve left or right like he did at City and that's very good for Mikel because it gives him options." /p>
According to reports, Arsenal were 'offered' the chance to buy PSG striker Mauro Icardi earlier this summer, but they opted to sign Gabriel Jesus instead.
The Gunners failed in the top four race last season, as they finished two points behind rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Mikel Arteta's side are looking to get started and they've been busy in the transfer market this summer. They spent around £120m to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira.
Transfer gossip: Arsenal could offer Tielemans partial departure, Liverpool star reportedly leaves for £19m
Arsenal also brought in Jesus from Manchester City for a fee of around £45million. He proved himself in pre-season, scoring four goals in four friendlies.
Had they been unable to sign Jesus, Arsenal could have opted to sign Mauro Icardi from PSG. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has revealed the French giants 'offered' the striker to Arsenal a few months ago.
Icardi has had a difficult season in 2021/22, having only started in Ligue 1 ten times. He has scored five goals in 30 appearances in total.
Jesus seems like a much better signing, with Romano acknowledging the Brazilian was Edu's 'priority' this summer:
"Arsenal had many opportunities which they turned down, but it happens every day at all top clubs," Romano explained (via Caught Offside). p>
"For example, Mauro Icardi was an option offered to the club in recent months and it was decided not to continue as they were looking for a different striker, Edu always had Gabriel Jesus in mind as a priority.
"Sometimes the refusal is for technical reasons, other times for economic reasons."
Former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre thinks Jesus will give Arteta more options in attacking areas:
“They are still a young group of players with little experience in the Premier League in terms of games, and they are also a young manager. But they seem to be on the right track,” Silvestre told < em>888 Sport.
"Jesus will be number nine, although a lot of teams don't play what you might call a good old-fashioned number nine anymore. That's not a problem because the guy is so mobile and we have seen against Chelsea that he likes to come out to the right. He has the ability to swerve left or right like he did at City and that's very good for Mikel because it gives him options." /p>
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