- Oscar Sanders
- 2 days ago
Gabriel Jesus hoping mis-spent youth pays off for Arsenal in Champions League
Gabriel Jesus is ready to teach Arsenal's Champions League newcomers all about a competition he used to skip school to watch as a boy.
Gabriel Jesus is a professional football player who plays as a striker for Arsenal and the Brazil national team.
Born in Sao Paulo, he made his way into the professional game via street soccer and then the amateur game. His last amateur club was Anhanguera before he joined Palmeiras' youth system.
After impressive performances for Palmeiras' youth team, Jesus earned promotion to the senior side and was then prised away by Manchester City during the 2016/17 season. The transfer was announced in August 2016 but only completed in the January transfer window.
Jesus was part of the side when City won back-to-back Premier League titles in 2017/18 and 2018/19, and then again in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
He was also in the Brazil squad which won the 2019 Copa America. Jesus also has an Olympic gold medal and a Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A title to his name, both won in 2016.
After success at City, the Brazilian moved to Arsenal on a five-year contract believed to worth around £45million in July 2022.
Starting at Palmerias
Jesus joined Palmeiras in 2013 and was an instant hit for their youth sides. He made his senior debut on March 7, 2015 and was not immediately as prolific for the first team.
However, in 2016, he had a superb year and was a key component in Palmeiras winning the league. Jesus picked up the award for the best player over the course of the season, the Bola de Ouro.
Jesus' international career
Jesus was part of the Brazil team which finished second to Serbia at the U-20 World Cup in 2015 in New Zealand. He scored Brazil's first goal of the tournament in a 4-2 win over Nigeria.
The following year, Jesus made then senior national team coach Dunga's provisional 40-man squad for Copa America Centenario. However, the lack of a visa to travel to host nation USA meant he missed out on the final selection.
However, Jesus was instrumental for Brazil at the 2016 Olympics on home soil. He scored in a 4-0 group stage win over Denmark and bagged a brace in a 6-0 semi-final demolition of Honduras. In the final against Germany, he converted a penalty to help Brazil to the gold medal.
Jesus made his senior national team debut against Ecuador that year in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier, bagging a brace in a convincing 3-0 victory.
Although he was top scorer for Brazil in qualifying with seven goals from 10 games, Jesus did not score at the World Cup in Russia despite starting all five of their games. Brazil were eliminated 2-1 by Belgium in the quarter-finals.
However, Jesus redeemed himself in the 2019 Copa America tournament, again on home soil, although there was to be a twist.
Jesus picked up a goal and assist in the final against Peru, which Brazil won 3-1, but he also picked up a red card and a two-month CONMEBOL ban for his reaction to the referee's decision to send him off.
In the Copa America 2021, Jesus was suspended for the semi-final and final after picking up a red card in the quarter-final win over Chile. Brazil lost the final 1-0 to old rivals Argentina.
Arriving in England
On August 3, 2016, it was announced that Jesus would sign for Manchester City from Palmeiras. He moved in January 2017 for a reported transfer fee of £27million ($36.5million) plus add-ons.
Jesus hit the ground running at his new club, scoring seven goals in his first 10 Premier League appearances despite being locked in competition for a starting role with Argentine superstar Sergio Aguero.
In Jesus' first Premier League start, on February 1, 2017, he scored and picked up an assist, becoming the first Manchester City player to do so on their Premier League debut. Manchester City went on to beat West Ham 4-0 with further goals coming from Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Yaya Toure.
In 2017/18, Jesus scored 13 goals as City stormed to the Premier League title with a record 100 points.
The following season they retained their title, but Jesus was less prolific and only netted seven times in the league. He was, however, more clinical in other competitions and ended with a total of 21 goals for the season. City won the League Cup and FA Cup to complete a domestic treble.
In 2019, Jesus changed his Manchester City shirt number from 33 to 9. The 2019/20 season saw him score 14 times in 34 league games and net a further nine goals in other competitions, but City were beaten to the league title by Liverpool.
In their UEFA Champions League campaign, Jesus scored in a 2-1 round-of-16 first leg win over Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid. After soccer was put on hold for several months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, City followed up with a victory on home soil in which Jesus picked up another goal and an assist.
Jesus' tally of 14 UEFA Champions League goals in his first 22 games was only bettered by three non-European players.
Though Manchester City continued to miss out on Champions League success, Jesus played important roles in the club's domestic league and cup campaigns. He won four Premier League titles, four League Cup trophies and one FA Cup.
Jesus scored 95 goals in 233 appearances for Manchester City, before his move to Arsenal in the summer of 2022.
Personal life
Jesus is in a relationship with influencer Raiane Lima, the couple welcomed their first child Helena in May 2022.
Jesus is famous for his goal celebration which caught the eyes of the world during the early stages of his Manchester City career. The celebration mimics a phone call, which at one point was rumoured to be mocking his ex-girlfriend, who it was claimed did not call him until he signed for Manchester City.
However, Jesus was quoted as saying by the Players' Tribune: "Whenever I score for Manchester City, my mother calls me. As soon as the ball hits the back of the net, the phone rings.
"It doesn't matter if she's back home in Brazil or if she's in the stadium watching me. She calls me every time. So I run to the corner flag, and I put my hand to my ear, and I say, 'Alo Mae!'."
Neymar and Jesus have matching tattoos, which went viral ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Net worth
Jesus' deal with Arsenal is believed to be worth around £5million a year, an increase of £2m on what he was on at Manchester City.
