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Martin Odegaard is already looking forward to next season and has revealed his excitement at sharing the pitch with new signing Gabriel Jesus.
THE LOWDOWN: BRILLIANT ADDITION
Without a doubt, Gabriel Jesus is the marquee signing in what has been a relatively busy window for Arsenal so far. The Gunners have strengthened in a number of areas after falling short in their top-four bid last season.
The one area Arsenal obviously needed to strengthen was up front, with the exits of star forwards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette over the past six months.
The Gunners have so far responded well to those exits, having chosen to offer Eddie Nketiah a new deal, alongside the £45 million capture of Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City.
Jesus never found regular football easy to come by at the Etihad but his goal-scoring record was decent regardless. He is now set to lead Arsenal’s frontline and become the focal point in attack.
THE LATEST: EXCITEMENT AT NEW PARTNERSHIP
Gabriel Jesus has made a superb start to pre-season for Arsenal, having scored in successive games. Odegaard, who supplied the cross for the Brazilian’s most recent goal, has suggested that the new forward could take the club to another level.
“I’ve only trained with him for a few days now, but it doesn’t take long to see that he has a lot of qualities,” Odegaard told ESPN. “I think he will bring a lot of good things to the team. I’ve seen him play a lot for Man City and yes, I think we are lucky to have him. I’m really excited to play with him and link up, I think it could be fun.
“You see a lot in training to see what he’s like. Strikers, they want different things but you just have to watch him in training to see where he wants the ball. My job is to feed him and try to make him score goals. That’s what I want to do.”
THE VERDICT: AN UPGRADE FOR ARSENAL
Goals upfront was something of a major issue for Arsenal. Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah only managed nine Premier League goals between themselves. For a top side, that should not be acceptable.
In fact, a couple more goals might have possibly been enough to seal a top-four finish.
Jesus is definitely an upgrade on Arsenal’s previous options and he has already shown glimpses of what he is all about.
The race for the top-four will definitely go down to the wire. If Odegaard and Jesus hit find some early momentum, then Arsenal might just end their prolonged absence from the Champions League.
