Gabriel Jesus has said no one at Arsenal informed him he won’t have a major role at the Emirates prior to his move to Barcelona.
On summer deadline day, the forward completed a permanent move to the Camp Nou.
The La Liga winners pursued Julián Alvarez throughout the window before giving up, after Atlético Madrid refused to sell. Therefore, Barcelona ended up signing the 29-year-old from Arsenal.
Quick move from Arsenal to Barcelona
Last week, Sport Witness covered a report from Spain explaining how Barcelona sporting director Deco completed his signing.
The official realised the Gunners were willing to sell Gabriel Jesus for around €10m late in the window. He sorted the salary issue with the player within 24 hours.
After completing the move, the Brazil international confirmed he took a massive pay cut to join Hansi Flick’s side.
Difficult final days at Arsenal
The player now spoke to Sporty TV to share more details of his move from Arsenal to the Camp Nou.
Thursday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo, who have relayed his comments, says the player’s final days at the Emirates was difficult.
Gabriel Jesus did the pre-season with the Premier League winners but didn’t feature for them this season.
However, the South American continued to train under Mikel Arteta before the Gunners, likely at the manager’s request, asked him to train alone.
“The truth is, I was training. I did the whole preseason with Arsenal, as normal,” he said.
“Obviously, I already knew I probably wasn’t going to play there, or that I wasn’t going to get many opportunities, but nobody had said anything to me. I’m a professional, you know, so obviously I kept training with the group.”
“Then, suddenly, they had me train on my own. I kept training and giving my all to be ready in case I had the chance to play at the highest level again.”
The former Arsenal man made his debut in Barca’s 5-1 win over Valencia last weekend. On Wednesday, he scored his first goal for the Catalan club in their Champions League win over Feyenoord.
He didn’t hesitate to leave Arsenal for Barcelona because of his difficult situation at the Emirates towards the end.
“We were clear that I had the opportunity to come, and I said yes straight away, without any hesitation. I’m very happy to be here,” Jesus explained.
