- 23 hours ago
‘Gabriel Jesus upset if Arsenal sign Cody Gakpo’
Carlo Garganese
- 23 Dec 2022 09:00 GMT
- 3 min read
Arsenal have been warned off hijacking Manchester United’s move for Cody Gakpo as signing the PSV star would risk upsetting Gabriel Jesus and the Arsenal dressing room.
That is according to former France and Chelsea defender Franck Lebouef, who says that Arsenal should not sign Gakpo.
Arsenal are in the market for a striker in the January transfer window following Gabriel Jesus’ injury at the World Cup, which will keep him out for three months.
And there has been growing reports in recent days that they could make a move for PSV star Gakpo.
What did Lebouef say?
“Gakpo would be a good target,” Lebouef told Safe Betting Sites.
“He had a fantastic World Cup. He's young, he’s a great talent and he represents the future of football. But there is always a dilemma when you want to replace somebody with a great player. When that injured player returns, what happens then? Does he go straight back into the team in place of the new signing?
“So if you sign Gakpo and put him in competition with Gabriel Jesus, who then finds himself back in the situation he was in at Manchester City. Maybe you risk upsetting him and the dressing room? But equally maybe he is not going to worry. But it is also possible that he's gonna be unhappy because he was playing great before his injury.
“It could be dramatic at the end of the day. So you have to believe that Mikel Arteta and the Arsenal board have already thought through the pros and cons but will have to be 100% sure that Gakpo can be good for the team in the squad before they try to sign him. It's a tricky balance that's the problem.”
Man Utd are the favourites to sign Gakpo next month and have been chasing him ever since they hired Erik ten Hag as manager this past summer.
Indeed, they were close to signing the PSV attacker before the start of the season but couldn’t get a deal over the line.
Gakpo has subsequently showed just how good he is for both club and country.
He had 13 goals and 17 assists from just 24 games for PSV in the first half of the season, and added another three strikes for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
Man Utd are now preparing to make a new move in 2023.
