Ahead of the North London Derby, Mikel Arteta highlighted how simple it was to persuade Gabriel Jesus to choose Arsenal over Tottenham.
The Brazilian striker scored seven goals in pre-season after leaving champion Manchester City to join the Gunners for £47m in the summer.
Arteta making sure his monster is ready for Saturday 👾 pic.twitter.com/tpuEKHXUHf
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Arsenal swooped in and secured their man in July despite interest from Tottenham and Chelsea.
Jesus has had a fantastic start in the Premier League, scoring four goals and dishing out three assists in just seven games to propel Arsenal to the top of the standings.
How Did Arteta Convince Jesus To Pick Arsenal Over Spurs?
Arteta spoke about the simple role he and the Arsenal’s technical director, Edu, played in persuading the 25-year-old to come to the Emirates Stadium over their neighborhood rivals on the eve of the first north London derby of the season.
“Edu had a talk with him to express what the project was and what the club is about,” Arteta revealed in his pre-match press conference.
“He explained the role he would have at the club. I then spoke to him, so it was a team effort and he clearly understood what we wanted to do.
“The relationship we had with with him [Edu was general coordinator of the Brazil national team from 2016-2019, while Arteta was a coach at Man City] helped because there is that trust and connection already.
“Then it’s completely up to the player to decide.”
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When asked if those conversations had Arsenal certain that they would choose to sign the Brazilian over the competition, Arteta responded: “We were really hopeful.
“His immediate reaction was really positive, but after that there are other steps that have to go in the right direction to finalise and get a player to sign for the club.
“But, to be fair, Gabi made it pretty easy for us.”
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