LONDON: Arsenal have completed the signing of Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus for a fee of around £45 million ($54 million), the London club announced on Monday.
Jesus, who scored 95 goals in 236 appearances for City, has signed a “long-term contract” with Arsenal after deciding to leave the Premier League champions in search of more regular first-team action.
The Brazil international is reunited with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who was Pep Guardiola’s assistant at City before he took charge at the Emirates Stadium.
“I’m very excited. The club has done a tremendous job to recruit a player of this stature,” Arteta said.
“This is a position that’s been on our radar for a long time now and we have managed to get a player that we all wanted, so I’m really happy.”
Jesus was expected to fall down the pecking order at City had he stayed for the final year of his contract as the champions have bolstered their striking options with the signings of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez.
Admitting Arteta’s presence at the Emirates was influential in his decision to join the Gunners, Jesus said: “We spoke a couple of times about the club, the players, the project and the future.
“I believe 100 percent in Mikel. I had a very good time with him before, he’s a very good guy and a very good coach as well.
“He helped me a lot. We would always stick together after the training sessions and do some finishing or something.
“He’s a very intelligent guy and was an amazing player, so if he knows something he can teach me or the young players.”
Arsenal have let senior strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette leave the club for free in the past six months.
Despite handing Eddie Nketiah a new five-year deal, Jesus is expected to lead the line for Arteta’s men as the Gunners aim to end a six-year absence from the Champions League.
The 25-year-old won four Premier League titles among eight major honors during his time with City after joining them in January 2017.
Arsenal have already strengthened Arteta’s squad with the signings of Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira, Brazilian teenage forward Marquinhos and American goalkeeper Matt Turner.
According to reports, they have also had a bid for Leeds winger Raphinha turned down, but are expected to return with an improved offer for the Brazilian international.
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Arsenal sign Gabriel Jesus from Man City
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Arsenal sign Gabriel Jesus from Man City
- Jesus was expected to fall down the pecking order at City had he stayed for the final year of his contract
Final preparations ramp up as Dakar Rally 2026 draws closer
- World’s toughest endurance race scheduled for seventh consecutive year in Kingdom
YANBU: Final preparations for Saudi Arabia’s Dakar Rally 2026 have entered their concluding phase, with less than two weeks to go until the world’s toughest endurance race gets underway in the Kingdom for a seventh consecutive year.
Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Sport and organized by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation in partnership with the Saudi Motorsport Company, the rally runs from Jan. 3-17 and features 14 race days, including a prologue and 13 competitive stages.
A milestone was reached in logistical operations last week when two vessels carrying rally vehicles and equipment from Barcelona arrived at King Fahd Industrial Port in Yanbu.
Technical scrutineering for all competing vehicles is scheduled for Jan. 1-2, marking the final step before competition begins.
This year’s event will feature 812 competitors representing 69 nationalities and competing across 433 vehicles in a wide range of categories.
The entry list includes 73 ultimate cars, 118 motorbikes, 46 trucks, 38 challengers, 43 side-by-side vehicles, eight stock vehicles, 75 classic cars, 24 classic trucks, and seven Mission 1000 motorbikes, as well as a Mission 1000 truck, highlighting the rally’s scale and diversity.
The action begins on Saturday, Jan. 3, with a 23-km prologue in Yanbu, followed by Stage 1 on Jan. 4, a 305-km loop starting and finishing in the coastal city.
The route then heads to AlUla for Stages 2 and 3 before continuing through a demanding sequence of desert stages across the Kingdom.
Competitors will race from AlUla to a bivouac refuge on Jan. 7, then to Hail the day after and Riyadh on Jan. 9, ahead of a rest day on Jan. 10.
The second half of the rally resumes with stages through Wadi Al-Dawasir, Bisha and Al-Henakiyah, before the event concludes back in Yanbu on Jan. 17.
Saudi Arabia’s continued hosting of the Dakar Rally underscores its growing status as a global hub for motorsport and international sporting events.
The Kingdom is the only country to host a broad spectrum of elite motorsport competitions, including Formula One, Formula E, the FIA World Rally Championship and Extreme H, alongside the Dakar Rally.
