Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp apparently took aim at rivals Manchester City for their clever sale of Gabriel Jesus to Arsenal. The reigning Premier League champions conducted a somewhat of an overhaul at the club this summer, letting the likes of Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko leave. While Sterling joined Chelsea for £51 million, Jesus and Zinchenko both were sold to Arsenal for a combined fee for £80 million.
Klopp however pointed out that City were smart enough to sell Jesus to an Arsenal team which is still developing and is not a serious threat to their Premier League title. The Gunners are truly in a transitional phase under Mikel Arteta and cannot be considered as title challengers. But their summer recruitment has given them a new dimension, helping them to the top of the Premier League table with 7 wins out of 8 games so far.
Klopp planning to stop the ‘flying’ Gabriel Jesus for the weekend as his side faces Arsenal test
Arsenal once again let their money talk this summer, as they facilitated 4 new signings. The duo of Jesus and Zinchenko were part of their business, who have transformed Mikel Arteta’s team and been credited with the surge in their form. While the Ukrainian has had injury problems of late, Jesus is leading Arsenal’s attack with 5 goals and 3 assists in 8 league games. He grabbed another assist while setting up Fabio Vieira’s goal in the Europa League against Bodo/Glimt.
The Brazilian will now be gearing up to face his old foes Liverpool at the weekend, where Arsenal will need their talismanic forward at his very best. Moreover, Liverpool are clearly struggling at the moment and the Gunners have a perfect home game to gun down the Reds. Meanwhile, in his recent press conference ahead of the game Klopp provided his own theory of why City rather let Arsenal take away Jesus than their direct rivals. He said:
“I don’t know him [Gabriel Jesus] on a personal basis, but I’ve always liked him as a player. I know City wouldn’t have sold him to any club, but with Arsenal the distance was enough, geographically. He’s an exceptional player, you always say that. The Gabriel Jesus role at City was a nine and a winger. Last year, everybody said City had no number nine. He was still there, but he played obviously from the wing and now he can play his role.”
However, he didn’t shy away from lavishing praise on the former Palmeiras striker for taking Arsenal to a whole new level with his qualities. Arteta’s men are sitting atop of the Premier League table, thanks to the 25-year-old’s solid displays alongside his new teammates. Klopp is now hoping to contain the threat Jesus possesses in the two sides’ match-up. The German further added:
“The third goal last night was a nice set up, so he is full of confidence, plus the quality of top-class players around him. He’s flying in this moment, that’s clear. If you’re not playing against them, It’s easy to enjoy what he’s doing. We need to make sure he stops flying for a weekend.”
Liverpool are one of Gabriel Jesus’ favourite sides, as he has netted an impressive 5 goals and provided 3 assists against them in 12 games from his time at City. He will certainly be looking to add to his tally against the Reds when he faces them with his new team Arsenal, who have all the momentum on their side to put on a blistering show against Klopp’s men. Arteta will be hoping to earn only his second win against Liverpool as Arsenal manager in the league to keep the Gunners’ lead at the top of the table intact.