Arsenal Invincibles laud transfer as Gunners stars set sights on glory

The Brazilian striker swapped the blue of Manchester City for north London earlier this month in a £45million deal and has already hit the ground running in pre-season.

Jesus has netted three times in two pre-season outings which will no doubt come as a welcome sight to Arsenal following the recent departure of Alexandre Lacazette.

Former Arsenal captain Gilberto Silva is excited at the prospect of compatriot Jesus leading the line for the Gunners in the upcoming season and hopes he can contribute goals for Mikel Arteta's side.

"I'm very happy for him and very happy for Arsenal," Gilberto said. "I think he's the kind of player who deserves to be in a club where he has the conditions to play for the whole season.

"I hope he can be one of the main players for the team and bring the club what the club expects from him. I think for the club it will be great because he's a good player and a very good guy and he has already shown from the beginning that what everyone expects from him is to score goals and to help the team achieve what they want."

If Jesus' pre-season exploits are anything to go by, Arsenal might just have found their key to getting over the line in the quest to return to the Champions League for the first time since 2018.

The 25-year-old broke his duck with a brace during Arsenal's 5-3 win at Nurnberg followed by another against Everton in the United States.

Former Gunners midfielder Ray Parlour believes Jesus not only brings goals to the Emirates Stadium but also a winning mentally from his five-year spell at City.

Parlour said: "I've been really impressed with him in training, he's got in with all the lads as well. He seems to be fitted like a glove.

"Sometimes you don't hit the ground running but in pre-season he's looked very sharp. He's a brilliant signing. Losing Lacazette, you had to replace him and I think, what a replacement.

When quizzed on whether not having a striker harmed Arsenal's top four changes last term, Parlour added: "Probably. If you look at Spurs, Son and Kane v Nketiah. Nothing against Eddie [Nketiah], he's still a good lad, he's still learning and Lacazette. You put your money on probably Spurs to get over the line.

"But Jesus, he's a winner, he's been in winning sides so he's got to bring that mentality across to the team now. The togetherness in the team which I've seen, I've been around some very successful teams in my career and I know exactly when I've got a good team.

"I can see they've got a good team, there's still a long way to go. There might still be another couple of signings to come as well. Looking from the outside now, it's looking good."

Meanwhile, Arsenal duo Emile Smith-Rowe and Aaron Ramsdale are confident the club can go one better this season after the heartbreak of missing out on the Champions League whilst also having their sights set on a place in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the World Cup

"It's definitely tough looking back on it, it was in our hands," Smith Rowe told the Evening Standard. "We are a young team, we are still getting there. It's fuel for us going forward and we can't wait to start the season."

"For me personally, I'm just focused on getting back fit as soon as possible so I can get back playing with my team-mates and then let's see what happens.

"Making the World Cup squad is a major goal for me this season."

Ramsdale started England's last two games but expects a stiff challenge to book his ticket to Qatar.

He told Sky Sports: "You're always looking at it but there's huge stumbling blocks in the way in Jordan Pickford. "He's been amazing for England so it'll be interesting to see how we all start the season.

"It's not just me and Jordan - there's Nick Pope, Sam Johnstone, Dean Henderson. We're all going to be playing in the Premier League this year so it's not a formality that I'll be on the plane.

And the Gunners stars are intent on glory too.

Smith Rowe added: "The big thing I want to achieve this season, in the Europa League anyway, we're going to try and do as well as we can in that and hopefully win that and keep improving week-in, week-out with the team."