How Arsenal chief Edu persuaded Gabriel Jesus to leave Premier League champs Man City for Gunners transfer
ARSENAL chief Edu was key to signing Gabriel Jesus as he promised to bring back the striker’s shine.
The Gunners director of football not only spoke to Jesus prior to completing a deal, but his family too.
Edu knows Jesus from his spell working as the general coordinator of the Brazil national team, and he was blunt with the striker in their discussions.
He filled Jesus with belief and spoke about trying to get the best out of him after a decline in form at Manchester City last season.
Edu said: “I worked with Gabriel as well from the national team. I know him, I know his family, I know everyone and that’s why I decided to go there to talk to the family.
“I said to him one thing, which his agent said was really nice. I said: ‘Gabriel, I’m here to try to sign you, but not the Gabriel from this season, I want the Gabriel from the other seasons because this season you’ve not played the way I know you.
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“‘You’ve lost your shine. When I see you this season, I’m not seeing you as before because I know you very well. I want the Gabriel from last season because again you have to be Gabriel’.
“He looked at me and said: ‘You’re right’.”
So far the transfer has been successful with Jesus scoring his fourth goal in as many pre-season games against Chelsea on Saturday.
Jesus has been given a prominent role under Mikel Arteta and he is confident his new-found freedom will help him challenge for the Premier League Golden Boot.
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Edu also has big ambitions for the future and is not happy to settle for challenging for a top four place.
His transfer policy has that in mind and that is why he has brought in proven winners like Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchencko.
The Brazilian said: “Arsenal should not be building to just fight for fourth. A club of our size cannot accept that.
“That’s what really hurt when I returned three years ago. I was asking, ‘What’s happening here? Everybody is comfortable and they’re all OK with that?’
“Well, f*** you, because that’s not the mentality of this club. I want everyone to feel, ‘F***ing hell, now we are really going to go for things’.
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“So we needed a squad with personalities that say, ‘I am not losing this game — I will kill someone first but I don’t lose’.
“And this summer I think we’ve added more players with that kind of character.”