Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus reveals his favourite playing position after playing in unnatural role for the Gunners this season

Gabriel Jesus has admitted wanting to play as a striker for Arsenal. He also claims that it was highlighted in the conversation with Mikel Arteta and Edu before he moved from Manchester City.

Injuries, however, have forced Arteta to use the Brazilian on the wing, with Eddie Nketiah playing as the striker. Speaking to the media, Jesus insisted that while he is not a fan of playing on the wing, he is willing to do what it takes to help the team. He was quoted by GOAL as saying:

"It’s worth pointing out that I’ve been playing a lot of roles at Arsenal. Obviously when I chose to move from City to Arsenal, Edu and Arteta spoke to me, and I made it clear that I’d like to play 9. That was Arsenal's idea, for me to play 9, loose."

"This season has been different, we’ve had injuries and in the last few games we've played three up front. For a while, I thought I’d just say I wanted to play 9, but I’m here to help the team. I’m blessed by God to have this talent and the versatility to play in all three forward positions. I prefer not to choose.”

Arsenal signed Jesus from Manchester City in the summer of 2022 as the Brazilian was not keen to fight for a starting role with Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez. In 42 appearances for the Gunners so far, Jesus has scored 14 times and assisted eight.

Arsenal urged to sign Gabriel Jesus replacement

Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman has urged Arsenal to sign a replacement for Gabriel Jesus less than 18 months since the Brazilian was signed. Speaking to Betfred, McManaman claimed that Brentford's Ivan Toney would be a good option. He said:

"I believe that Arseńal could be a spiritual home for Ivan Toney. I know that Arsenal and Brentford have a really good relationship, so maybe that would be a much easier route to take for Ivan. Chelsea might be interested in him because they’re seemingly interested in everybody else but after already spending £1 billion, it doesn’t make sense for them to sign another forward in January."

Fichajes.com has claimed that Arsenal are willing to use Gabriel Jesus in a swap deal to land Victor Osinhem from Napoli. Osimhen has been on the radar of many of Europe's top clubs after scoring 26 times in 32 Serie A matches last season. He has continued his good form this campaign, scoring six goals in eight league matches so far.