EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIn one of the more unexpected signings on transfer deadline day, Gabriel Jesus joined Barcelona from Arsenal in a deal worth an initial 10 million. The Brazilian signed a three-year deal at Camp Nou and immediately became the only recognised striker in Hansi Flick's first-team squad.The transfer even caught Flick by surprise. The coach admitted he didn't expect the 29-year-old to be available -- and certainly not for such a low fee -- as Bara sought reinforcements following the summer exits of Robert Lewandowski, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford.Jesus was not Bara's first choice. They had hoped to land Atltico Madrid's Julin lvarez -- and could still try and sign the Argentine again in the future -- but were forced to look elsewhere given their LaLiga rival's refusal to negotiate a deal.- Men's transfer grades: Barcelona get B, Arsenal a B- for Jesus deal- Who are Bara's Champions League opponents, debutants Sabah?- Every time Messi scored 4 goals (or more!) for Bara, Miami, ArgentinaWith Raphinha currently playing as a makeshift striker, backed up by Egyptian teenager Hamza Abdelkarim, Flick remained keen to sign a No. 9 heading into the final days of the window. They did not have to be a guaranteed starter, but someone who could fill the hole left by Lewandowski and Torres as and when needed: against deep blocks, to rest other players and late in games when a goal is needed.In that sense, if he can stay fit, Jesus may prove the stop-gap signing the Spanish champions need.When did Jesus emerge as a target?Jesus has been on Bara's radar for more than a decade. They had extensive scouting reports on him when he played for Palmeiras, before he joined Manchester City in 2016, but that historic interest is unrelated to sporting director Deco's move for him this summer.Sources told ESPN earlier this year that Bara, facing the prospect of losing Lewandowski and Torres, were eyeing the signing of up to two forwards. While lvarez was their first choice, they were also looking for someone else with a profile like Jesus, someone who could play a secondary role.At the start of the summer, given he had just one year to run on his Arsenal contract, Jesus featured on Bara's longlist, sources told ESPN. However, there was no real dialogue or thoughts around a signing at that point.Anthony Gordon and Karim Adeyemi were signed as wide forwards but also as players who, if needed, could play through the middle. Meanwhile, the pursuit of lvarez continued. Bournemouth's Junior Kroupi and Inter Milan's Lautaro Martnez were explored as potential lvarez alternatives, but all hopes were pinned on Atltico changing their stance on a transfer.However, as the two clubs traded blows last week, and Atltico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marn said he would "never" transfer lvarez to Bara, who he says tapped up the player, Deco returned to Plan B, a lower-cost option to satisfy Flick's request. There were exploratory conversations with Club Brugge over Nicol Tresoldi, but with sources saying the Belgian club wanted as much as 50 million, interest in Jesus accelerated rapidly."It happened very quickly," Jesus, who took a pay cut to push the move through, confirmed on Tuesday. "It was only a week ago that I received a message that it could happen."It doesn't annoy me [being Plan B to lvarez]; it doesn't bother me. I have the chance to play for Barcelona, a chance I had 10 years ago and now life has offered me that opportunity again."How will he fit into the Barcelona team?Flick views Jesus as someone who can fit his team's high-pressing playing style like a glove."I was a little surprised we had the opportunity to get him," the coach said after Monday's 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano. "I really love him, I like his style to play football. It fits with our style. I think he can help us a lot."The high-line, high-risk football deployed by Flick demands a lot of intensity from the team's forwards. Throughout his career, Jesus has demonstrated that there are few attackers better equipped to lead the press than him."When we need runners and players that help a lot with our high intensity and high pressing, he is the best in the world," former City coach Pep Guardiola said of Jesus in 2022. "Thanks to him we can stay high and be so aggressive."It is one of the reasons Mikel Arteta, who had worked under Guardiola at City, signed him for Arsenal later that same year."What are seeing is that everybody, not just Gabby, plays at that intensity and that willingness to win the ball, to promote mistakes and to play in the opponent's half as much as possible," Arteta said. "You cannot do that if players at the front are walking, they are not tracking, they don't have that instinct and that intention to provoke things that we want and Gabby is phenomenal at that."In terms of pure numbers, he's not actually that much different to lvarez in that sense. In four Premier League seasons with Arsenal, spanning 84 games, Jesus has averaged 3.64 ball recoveries per 90 minutes. Last season, on the back of an ACL injury, that figure reached 4.06 in his 14 top-flight appearances. lvarez, meanwhile, averages 2.57 ball recoveries per 90 minutes since his arrival in LaLiga with Atltico in 2024: 2.41 last season and 2.68 in 2024-25. Those numbers are slightly skewed by the two teams' respective styles of play, but also highlight why Flick was so happy to get Jesus in the door this week.Bara's strikers last year were nowhere near those levels when it came to pressing and winning the ball back. Lewandowski recovered 1.68 balls per 90 minutes in LaLiga; Torres 1.64. Lamine Yamal (3.93) ranked best of all Bara's forwards ahead of Raphinha (3.05) and Rashford (2.25).Their respective heat maps from their spells with Arsenal and Atltico also show they pop up in similar areas of the pitch, although Jesus has also been used on the left. He says he views himself as a striker, although he's happy to play where needed as part of what Flick hopes will be an extremely versatile attack this season, rotating positions mid-match with fellow countryman Raphinha, Yamal, Gordon and Adeyemi.Of course, good pressing wins the ball back, goals win games. Jesus has averaged 0.63 goals or assists per 90 in the Premier League with Arsenal (21 goals, 11 assists), whereas lvarez has registered 0.67 with Atltico (25 goals, eight assists).The base numbers, therefore, show why Bara have taken a gamble on Jesus. There are risks. He insists he has recovered "100 percent" from knee issues, but it remains to be seen what his ceiling is as he nears 30. There is a reason Arteta has preferred Kai Havertz and Viktor Gykeres to him. One source said Arsenal were more than happy to move him on this week.Does this mean they have given up on signing lvarez?Comparing Jesus and lvarez is not done to justify why one has signed for Bara and the other hasn't. It merely shows why the Catalan side turned to Jesus given their frustrated attempts to sign lvarez. The message from club sources this week has been clear: lvarez remains a target."There will be more transfer windows," one source told ESPN.Jesus has signed a three-year deal, having originally agreed a two-year contract, for amortisation reasons. He has everything to win and nothing to lose now as he tries to play his way back into the Brazil squad.In the meantime, Bara are still thinking they need a long-term replacement for Lewandowski, who scored 120 goals in four years with the club."I think we have solutions with the signings we've made to cover Torres," Deco said in August. "Replacing Lewandowski is much more difficult. It's not easy to replace a player like him."lvarez, 26, did all he could to be that player. He told ESPN in June of his desire to leave Atltico to "fulfil" his dream, with sources saying that dream is to play for Bara. He turned down the chance to join Arsenal, instead waiting for Bara, and even missed several days of training last week and Atltico's win over Sevilla.However, Atltico, annoyed by what they felt was an illegal approach for the player, battened down the hatches and refused to negotiate with Bara. Gil Marn has insisted they will not negotiate with Bara. They are in a strong position. lvarez is under contract until 2030.For now, Bara have Jesus. Interest in lvarez remains strong, but if their new recruit and the likes of Raphinha -- who already has five goals in three games as a striker this season -- can produce the goods in the next few months, it may lessen the need to splash as much as 150 million on another No. 9.
