Gabriel Jesus staying at Arsenal is bad news for Kai Havertz

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 16 Oct 2024 11:02 BST
4 min read

The news that Gabriel Jesus will not be leaving Arsenal in January is bad news for Kai Havertz, according to ex-Gunners star Gilberto Silva.

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Arsenal are reported to have rejected a January offer from Palmeiras for wantaway striker Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus was open to leavingArsenal having fallen well down the pecking order at the Emirates.

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However, Mikel Arteta still sees Jesus as an important member of the squad and Silva believes that him staying could eventually come back to bite Havertz, who has pushed Jesus out of the team by playing as a false 9.

What did Gilberto Silva say?

"Jesus has suffered a lot with injuries and that really gets in the way,’ he told bettingexpert.com. "You break your rhythm and you always have to start over. It’s a huge challenge for any player.

"But injuries have had a big impact on Jesus’ loss of space, as he was out of action for a long time.

"It also opened up space for Havertz, who played in positions where Jesus would have played. He ended up doing well there.

"However, as a nine, Jesus has the potential to do more if he’s healthy. But Havertz came in so well that many people didn’t even think about his absences."

Jesus joined Arsenal from Man City for over €50 million in the summer of 2022 and enjoyed an excellent start to his Gunners career.

However, over time a combination of a lack of goals and fitness issues have seen Jesus fall down the pecking order.

So much so that manager Arteta now prefers playing a natural midfielder in Havertz as a false nine rather than starting Jesus.

Additionally, Arsenal tried to sign another natural nine this summer.

Arsenal had been in negotiations for several weeks with Leipzig for Benjamin Sesko, and believed that a deal was all but done - with only some formalities to complete before the 21-year-old would agree on personal terms.

In the end Sesko signed a new contract with Leipzig but the Gunners remain interested ahead of the summer of 2025 and could return for the striker.