With the additions of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, Manchester City were made to clear several names out of their squad during the ongoing summer transfer window.
Aside from Raheem Sterling - who left the Etihad Stadium for Chelsea, Gabriel Jesus also departed the Premier League champions in a £45 million move to Arsenal earlier in the summer.
Jesus’ move ended an astonishing chapter of the Brazilian’s career, in a period where he scored an impressive 95 goals for the Blues - 58 of which took place in the Premier League.
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That total made Gabriel Jesus the second-highest scoring Brazilian in the division's history, after Liverpool's Roberto Firmino.
One of the Brazilian’s most memorable goals was against Southampton in 2018, which made Manchester City the only team to ever register 100 points in a single Premier League season.
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Although Gabriel Jesus left behind an honourable and respected legacy at the Etihad Stadium, it certainly was not always like that for the Brazilian.
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As per an interview with Brazilian outlet UOL, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, Gabriel Jesus described the struggles he went through when he first joined the club in 2017 from Palmeiras.
In his first few weeks in Manchester, the then-19 year-old thought about leaving his new club, with the change in weather being one of the factors.
“In the first month, in my head, I thought about leaving.
"I left Brazil with a lot of heat and on holiday”, Jesus explained.
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"I left Brazil with 35°C, I arrived there with -5°C, snowing, horrible.”
However Gabriel Jesus’ ambitions of playing in the upper echelons of English and European football are ultimately what kept him from making a move back to Brazil.
“In my head, it was: ‘I want to leave’” said Jesus.
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“It was the dream of being in a good club, with good players, with the Premier League, the Champions League… that motivated me.”
Gabriel Jesus more than lived up to his ambitions during his time in east Manchester, helping lift the Premier League trophy on four occasions, as well as making an appearance in a Champions League final in 2021.
Throughout his first three games with the Gunners, Gabriel Jesus has already scored a hugely impressive four goals.
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Arsenal will open their Premier League season by taking on Crystal Palace on Friday, August 5.
Topics: Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal, Manchester City, Premier League, Football
Declan Harris