Arsenal may have been provided with further encouragement to pursue Brentford striker Ivan Toney in the January transfer window after seeing how Gabriel Jesus thrived on the right wing over the weekend. The Brazil international performed well against Manchester City when deployed out wide, with Mikel Arteta seeing his hand forced due to injury problems stacking up in North London.
The Gunners secured a significant three points on Sunday when beating the Premier League champions at the Emirates Stadium, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring the all-important goal in a 1-0 victory. The winger saw his strike ricochet off of the head of City’s Nathan Ake and wrong-foot goalkeeper Ederson in the 86th minute after second-half substitutes Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kai Havertz combined to set up the opening.
Arsenal will feel that their victory was the least they deserved given that City were fortunate not to have been reduced to ten men after Mateo Kovacic’s crunching tackle on Martin Odegaard saw him escape a red card. The Croatia international was also counting his lucky stars after a second late challenge on Declan Rice was not penalised with a second yellow.
Arteta will have learned plenty about his squad and their courage up against City, and he was also offered another reason as to why signing Toney could be the final piece of the puzzle for his side over the course of 90 minutes. One of the main reasons why signing the England international has been challenged is the role of Jesus going forward, but the 26-year-old showcased that he is a suitable option on the right wing.
With Bukayo Saka ruled out with a hamstring injury, the former City star stepped up in his absence and proved that he could be a versatile option for Arteta to work with in the future. Jesus’ striker-like characteristics of wanting to link up play and race in behind made him a threat on the flank, and he will have shown that rotating Saka for the remainder of the campaign is not unreasonable anymore.
Moving Jesus out to the right would leave Arsenal needing a true No. 9, and further justifies why they are desperate to secure the signature of Toney – may that be in January or in the summer transfer window – and strengthen their attacking ranks further with additional depth in each position.
