No one would have predicted the scoreline. The Arsenal FIVE, Chelsea NIL.
It was the sixth time in 2024 that we have struck four or more goals against the opponent. And 5 out of 6 of those games had something in common – no Gabriel Jesus up top.
Against West Ham, Sheffield United, Newcastle and Chelsea, Kai Havertz was given the role of the central striker. In the 5-0 win at Burnley, Leandro Trossard played up top with Havertz deeper.
It was only against Crystal Palace back in January that Jesus started – and Havertz once again played deeper.
For those that love a process, we are in the middle of the next stage.
In 2022, Arsenal signed the players needed to make us a top 4 team again – the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Olexsandr Zinchenko. A year on and we were challenging for the title.
The 2023 transfer window was no longer about signing players to help us get into the top 4, it was all about signing players that would make us regular title challengers – in came in Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and David Raya.
The Raya signing (initially on loan) was controversial at the time, and this drew a lot of criticism from fans. But as always Thierry Henry was the voice of reason saying “he [Arteta] sees David Raya as a guy that can make him win the league.
“When Bernd Leno left Arsenal, he saw Ramsdale as a guy that could make him go into the top 4.”
And this is where we are now at in the process.
To compete on a regular basis, and to have a chance of becoming champions, we need to buy better than what we have. In turn, that could lead to some fan favourites being relegated from starters to back up dancers, and potentially leaving the club.
This summer will be a bit like last summer, where we recruit 2 or 3 top players that can start week in week out for us. The result will be that those starting will have to accept being squad players, and those currently on the bench will be sold.
I have made no secret of the 3 players I want – Benjamin Sesko, Nico Williams and Martin Zubimendi. Signing these 3 would put pressure on Gabriel Jesus/Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Jorginho/Thomas Partey. The final result will be the likes of Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe leave Arsenal.
No one can make a case that Nketiah, Nelson and Smith Rowe are better options than Sesko, Williams and Zubimendi, and if those aforementioned players are struggling for game time now, they will see even less of it as we continue to strengthen.
The next big step for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal is a new striker. And that man will be in a similar mould to Kai Havertz.
We have seen the advantages of having someone like Havertz up top in all these big wins we have had. The team now needs to transition from a Jesus type striker to a Havertz type. And this is where Arteta always wanted to go.
In the January transfer window before signing Jesus, we were linked with strikers of a completely different profile – Dusan Vlahovic, Dominic Calvert Lewin and Alexander Isak. It was clear Arteta wanted to play with a big, mobile centre forward who was comfortable coming deep and playing wide.
Vlahovic ended up at Juventus, Calvert Lewin got injured and lost form, and we opted for Jesus over Isak.
The links this summer are to players of a similar profile to those previously – Sesko, Viktor Gyökeres, Joshua Zirkzee and the previously linked Vlahhovic and Isak.
I think it is clear the direction Arteta wants the team to go in to take us to the next level again, and that is having a more physical, direct striker who is mobile enough to press and technical enough to drop deep.
That strikers natural cover will then be Kai Havertz. The German will also still provide an option as the left sided 8 when we want to go more attacking, and also cover for Martin Odegaard.
So what would all of this mean for Gabriel Jesus.
In the first half of last season, Jesus was integral in our fast start. He, and Zinchenko, bought a new mentality to the team. But there was a reason why Pep Guardiola was happy to let them both go – neither are that level you need as starters if you want to win the league.
Both are brilliant squad players – I am actually excited to see Zinchenko finally get to play a role more centrally and further forward (replacing Granit Xhaka) next season. Jesus meanwhile is a fantastic option across all 3 forward positions.
Jesus has never really been a striker, he has also never really been a winger. But what he does is provide cover and competition in all the positions. You would not be upset if either Bukayo Saka or Gabriel Martinelli were rested and Jesus came in.
The Brazilian would also provide a “Plan B” striking option to the more physical new signing. In some games Arteta might deem it better to go with someone smaller, trickier and less predictable. Jesus would also become a formidable option off the bench.
Jesus transitioning to a squad player would also mean that we do not necessarily need a new winger – we would have Saka, Martinelli, Jesus and Trossard as wide options with a new striker, Havertz and Jesus as the options up top. That would enable us to invest more in a top striker if needed.
Imagine a world where we are bringing on Havertz, Jesus and Trossard to try and win a game rather than Nketiah, Smith Rowe and Nelson being unused and untrusted subs. There is no doubt that the right recruitment at the top end of our squad will dramatically improve it.
Unfortunately for Jesus, he will have to accept a return to the utility role he played at City.
He joined us in the hope of regular first team football playing down the middle, but due to injuries and drop offs in form, Arteta and Arsenal now need to look in a new direction.
The selling point to Jesus will that despite him becoming more a utility player, he will still see plenty of game time. And the example is with his (sort of) replacement at Manchester City.
Julian Alvarez has played more Premier League minutes than any other player for City this season, but he has rarely started in his favoured centre forward position.
Alvarez has played the majority of this campaign either behind Haaland or out wide. the only time he got a run up top was when the Norwegian striker was injured. Jesus would play a very similar role to us.
You could see Jesus still starting 70% of games when fit, allowing Arteta to continually rotate between him, Martinelli and Saka. And as above, there will be times when Arteta might want to go with Jesus down the middle.
This change will certainly not be the end of Jesus’s journey with The Arsenal, and we should not consider selling him under any circumstances. 2024/25 will just be the start of a new journey with Arsenal, not to dissimilar to the role Sylvain Wiltord played in the invincibles.
Jesus being relegated from starter to squad player should be seen as a positive. It shows we are no longer only looking at players to take keep us in the top 4. We are looking for players to make us champions.
And then looking into my crystal ball at 2025, when we need to improve again, you might see a surprise like a new left winger coming in that is better than Martinelli, or a new right back better than Ben White.
Teams need to evolve, and making players or fans unhappy as you recruit better players is part of the process.
UTA
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
yes….. we need to keep the likes of Partey, Jesus, Zinny, Jorge… etc,
although i’m not sure Havertz could play the ‘Odegard’ role, as I don’t think his passing is ‘agressive’ enough, although, that could change, given the right conditions.
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