Three things noticed from Jesus' first Arsenal training session after £45m move

Arsenal are hard at work preparing for another potential assault on the Champions League places next season.

The Gunners have already kicked off their pre-season excursions having thumped Ipswich Town in a behind-closed-doors friendly, whilst they have also been pushing themselves on the London Colney training pitches in order to get their fitness in top shape.

There have been a few different faces added to Mikel Arteta's group though - the most recent of those being the £45m acquisition of Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian striker took part in his first training session on Monday alongside his new teammates.

Here are three things that Mirror Sport noticed as he sets the tone on his career in north London.

Samba synergy

It goes without saying that Jesus will be more than home at Arsenal having become the latest addition to the club's Brazilian contingent. He joins fellow summer signing Marquinhos in arriving at the Emirates Stadium this summer - the youngster having arrived from Sao Paulo earlier this summer.

The Samba connection does not end there though with the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and defender Gabriel Magalhaes already at the club. It already looks as though the four have struck up quite the connection with numerous shots of them grinning for the camera and walking out onto the training pitch together ahead of Monday's session.

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Whilst Arteta will be relieved that Jesus' bedding-in process appears to be relatively straightforward courtesy of his compatriots, he will certainly hope the same kind of connection can be seen on the pitch throughout the 2022/23 campaign.

On the ball already

The first few days of pre-season are usually infamously dedicated to fitness work and testing, with players somewhat understandably having relaxed slightly more during their summer holidays. However, gone are the days of a week of the bleep test and endurance running around a local park.

Jesus - alongside his new teammates - were spotted getting a feel of the new ball ahead of the season, something that might be needed considering the official match ball is another brand-new offering from Nike this season.

Whilst it might be some time until the 2022/23 season kicks off in vain, there will be absolutely nothing wrong with the Gunners blowing off the cobwebs and getting their shooting boots lined up once more ahead of the big kick-off.

Smith Rowe aiming to catch the eye

One man who will be keen for a fast start to pre-season is Arsenal academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe. The young midfielder enjoyed a very promising breakout season last time out with ten Premier League goals to his name throughout the campaign.

However, his opportunities dried up towards the end of the campaign. He scored just two of those league goals after the new year and only started one out of the last five matches of last season, with summer signing Martin Odegaard preferred by Mikel Arteta.

The Norwegian is yet to return to north London following his excursions with the national team throughout the summer so now represents an excellent opportunity for Smith Rowe to stake a claim for a starting berth in the team and of course, start developing an understanding with £45m signing Jesus.