Jesus spent many years at Manchester City and enjoyed great success. However, he was always something of a bit-part player.
For many years Sergio Aguero was Manchester City’s got-to no.9, and rightly so.
But even when the Argentine left for Barcelona, Jesus was still not handed a more regular starting berth up top.
Instead, Guardiola opted to largely deploy a false nine and when Jesus did play, it was often out wide.
Man City then signed two new strikers this past summer and Jesus made the switch to Arsenal where he has shone so far.
And now, the South American has been discussing his time at Manchester City and his new lease of life at Arsenal:
“The thing was the way [Guardiola] understands football and what he wanted,” Jesus told ESPN Brasil. “Then it was up to you to accept it or not. If you don’t accept it, ‘thank you’ and let’s go for another challenge.
“I accepted it for a while, but there came a moment when I said: ‘I want another thing for myself.’ I thanked him, ‘thanks for everything,’ he understood, and we moved on. It is different here at Arsenal. The football is different - different players, different ways to play.
“At City, it was different. The striker didn’t touch the ball that much, you see this by watching the games. And, when it was time to touch the ball, it was not the striker, because [Guardiola] ended up putting a midfielder to come closer. OK, fine. So, I decided to change.”
Jesus added: “I talked a lot with Arteta about Arsenal’s style,” Jesus added. “He knows me, I know him, I understood what he wanted from me. Now, I’m free on the pitch, playing football with a smile on my face and trying to do my best all the time.”
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