Palmeiras president Leila Pereira has confirmed Arsenal turned down their approach for the services of Gabriel Jesus.
After Mikel Arteta took charge of the club, Arsenal made a big effort to bring Gabriel Jesus to the club. Having worked with the Brazilian striker during his time at Manchester City, the Spanish manager was keen on having him in his squad.
The Gunners forked out a massive £45 million to sign Jesus from their rivals. While he was an important part of their first team in the initial phase, things have only gone downhill of late. The 27-year-old is no longer an integral part of the Arsenal setup
While there was a lot of interest in his signature during the summer, Arteta decided against sanctioning his departure. Jesus’s former club Palmeiras knocked on the door, but their approach was turned down as confirmed by their president.
While speaking on O Globo, Leila Pereira said, “We got in touch with Arsenal. But they soon said; ‘Leila, there is no condition [in which we let Gabriel Jesus go]. We are not going to negotiate the player’. So, Gabriel Jesus is not coming.
“Our squad is made up of players who are already with us and are extremely successful. There are some positions that Abel [Ferriera, the Palmeiras manager] would like to strengthen. But I’ll tell you right now; Forget about [signing a] star. The great star of Palmeiras is the squad. I don’t believe in idols. What wins titles is the squad. It’s the team.”
Mikel Arteta keen to keep Jesus
Gabriel Jesus came up the ranks at Palmeiras and made a name for himself while playing for the Brazilian club before making the move to Europe. While they were keen on bringing him back to the club and did approach the Gunners in the summer, their approach was turned down as Arteta was keen on having the 27-year-old at his disposal.
The Brazilian international has only started one league game so far, and he is yet to find the back of the net in his ten outings this season. Since the start of the 2023/24 season, he has only scored four league goals in his 30 outings.
While Arteta had the opportunity to move Gabriel Jesus on, he decided against it because of the fact that they wanted to compete on multiple fronts and some with his experience could play a pivotal role in the second half of the season when the games come thick and fast.
Apart from confirming the fact that Arsenal turned down their approach, Leila Pereira also suggested that Palmeiras are unlikely to make an attempt to sign the Brazilian star in the near future.
