The Brazilian causes controversy with his statements about his departure from the 'Citizens'
Gabriel Jesus said that his transfer this season from Manchester City to Arsenal in London was due to football differences with the coach of the 'Citizens', Spanish Pep Guardiola.
"I was very happy at Manchester City, it's not like I was unhappy there. But I also had to accept the way the team wanted me to play, and that was clear," said the 25-year-old forward in an interview with ESPN Brazil.
"The issue was the way he (Guardiola) understood football and what he wanted. In that case, it depends on you whether to accept it or not. If you don't accept it, then 'thank you' and let's move on to another challenge. I accepted it for a while, but there came a time when I said, 'I want something else for myself.' I thanked him, 'thank you for everything,' he understood, and that was it," he added.
Directed by the Spanish Mikel Arteta, former assistant coach of Pep at City, Arsenal paid £45 million ($50 million) for the Brazilian forward, who defended the current English league champions for five seasons.
Gabriel Jesus' departure, also dissatisfied with not having enough playing time, seemed to be precipitated by the arrival of Norwegian Erling Haaland and Argentine Julián Álvarez.
In addition, in the interview, he assured that Guardiola wanted him to play on the wing, despite his best position being center forward.
"Here at Arsenal it's different. The football is different, the players are different, different ways of playing. At City it was different, the forward doesn't touch the ball that much, just watch the games to realize," he said.
"I talked a lot with Arteta about the way of playing. He knows me, I know him, I understood what he wanted from me. Now I'm free on the field, playing football with a smile on my face and always trying to give my best," he pointed out.
The club change has been good for him, as he has become a reference in Arsenal's attack, contributing four goals in seven games for the Premier League leaders.
Although he started well in his new team, Gabriel Jesus was not called up by Tite for Brazil's last two friendly matches before the start of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The 'Canarinha' thrashed Ghana 3-0 last Friday and Tunisia 5-1 on Tuesday. AFP