Jesus explains decision to leave Manchester City for Arsenal | OneFootball

Gabriel Jesus says he needed to leave Manchester City for Arsenal so he could play the way he wants to play as a striker.

Gabriel Jesus left a very successful Manchester City team for Arsenal over the summer, and he insists that whilst he was happy with his old club, he also needed to make a change.

“I was very happy at Manchester City,” Jesus said. “It’s not that I was unhappy there, but I also had to accept the way the team wanted me to play, and that was clear.

“The thing was the way he (Guardiola) understood football and what he wanted. It’s up to you whether you accept it or not. If you don’t accept it, it’s ‘thank you’ and we’re off to another challenge.

“There came a moment when I said: ‘I want something else for myself.'”

Hence Jesus joined up with Mikel Arteta in north London, having previously worked with the Arsenal manager when he was a coach at Manchester City.

The Brazilian has explained why things are different for him with the Gunners.

“It’s different here at Arsenal. It’s different football, there are different players, different ways of playing.

“At City it was different. The striker didn’t take the ball that much, you just have to watch the games to see that.

“And when it was time to touch the ball, it wasn’t the striker, because he (Guardiola) ended up putting a midfielder to come closer. All right, okay. So, I decided to change (club).

“I talked a lot with Arteta about the style of play. He knows me, I know him, I understood what he wanted from me. Now, I’m free on the field, playing ball with a smile on my face and trying to do my best always.”

Jesus has certainly been able to express himself with Arsenal so far, to the team’s benefit. The 25-year-old has seven goal contributions in seven Premier League games, scoring four and assisting three to lead Arsenal to the top of the table.

The task now is to keep that going in a busy October with plenty of huge games, starting with the north London derby on Saturday.