Arsenal star set for surprise move as Mikel Arteta faced with familiar £35m transfer reminder | OneFootball

Gabriel Jesus is reportedly close to sealing a ‘dream’ move to Barcelona after falling out of favour at Arsenal.

The Brazil international swapped Manchester City for Arsenal in the summer of 2022 for a fee worth up to £45million.

But the 29-year-old has arguably not lived up to that price tag, after scoring just 32 times in 123 games. His best season came back in 2022-23, when he notched 11 goals – the only time he has been in double figures for the Gunners.

With Mikel Arteta currently relying on Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres to lead his team’s attack, it has increasingly looked like Jesus‘ time at the Emirates would draw to a close.

Indeed, earlier this week, the Spanish boss hinted the Brazilian forward could be heading to pastures new before the transfer window shuts on 1 September.

Arteta revealed he has not been training with the first-team squad, saying, “It’s something to do with the numbers that we have in the squad.

“And the way we are managing that kind of situation individually with all the players that have some personal situations.”

When asked if Jesus’ exit was imminent, he replied, “Personal situations, whatever they are, I think it’s clear.”

This is quite the contrast from what he said about the former Man City star when he returned from an ACL injury late last year.

Arteta said last November, “Again, a player that is very unpredictable, full of energy, super competitive, a player that comes from a context of difficulty in the last few seasons for various nasty injuries.

“So the level of hunger and desire that he’s going to bring to the team is going to be amazing. So I’m thrilled to have him, I think he’s going to add something extra to the team that we don’t have and make sure that very soon we see him on that pitch making an impact for the team.”

Now, it seems, Arteta is prepared to get ruthless as Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli are nearing Arsenal exits.

Barcelona set to sign Jesus from Arsenal

Indeed, according to Fabrizio Romano, Jesus will sign a two year deal with La Liga champions Barcelona, and there is an option to extend that by a further 12 months.

The player is said to ‘immediately” have said yes to this offer, which is a ‘dream opportunity’ for him. Jesus is set for a medical on Monday, with Barca securing his services for €10m (£8.5m) plus add-ons.

While he only had one year left on his contract, it does represent a significant loss on their initial investment.

Sporting director Andrea Berta has arguably made some good acquisitions since coming on board in March 2025.

And had it not been for Martinelli nearing a £56m move to Al-Hilal, Arsenal fans would be complaining once again about their struggles to sell players for sizeable fees in the market.