Mikel Arteta said he was “very surprised” by Gabriel Jesus’s public complaints about the way his summer exit from Arsenal was handled, speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland.
The Brazil striker joined Barcelona on the final day of the summer transfer window, signing a three-year deal reported at around £8.6 million. After arriving in Catalonia, Jesus told reporters that “out of nowhere they put me to train apart from the group” and that “nobody told me nothing” about why his role had changed.
Arteta rejected the idea that Jesus had been left in the dark. He said the pair had spoken privately in the dressing room before the deal was finalised.
“Very surprised, to be fair. Especially because with Gabi (Jesus) I had an individual talk in the dressing room.”
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“The words we used for each other, it was all about gratitude.”
“Somebody has to be the bad cop. If I have to be, I have to be and I understand.”
An instant Barcelona debut
Jesus’s start in Spain has been abrupt and productive. He came on with two minutes left in Barcelona’s Champions League opener against Feyenoord on 9 September and scored within moments, meeting a Lamine Yamal cross to complete a 5-1 win.
“It’s a different kind of emotion,” he said of his first goal for the club.
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A wider summer clear-out at Arsenal
Jesus was not the only forward Arteta parted with. Gabriel Martinelli left for Al Hilal in a deal reported at £60 million, and Leandro Trossard had already been sold to Besiktas in July for a reported €18 million.
Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright publicly criticised the handling of Martinelli’s departure, and it was in that wider context that Arteta was pressed on both exits.
“What is important is normally what happens three months or six months later.”
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