Mikel Arteta finally responds to Gabriel Jesus' 'surprising' transfer claim

Mikel Arteta has responded to claims made by Gabriel Jesus that he was left in the dark over his transfer from Arsenal to Barcelona.

The Brazilian, who joined the Catalan giants from the Gunners in a deadline day move, claimed in a recent interview that he was "told nothing" in the final days of his North London career ahead of the completion of the deal with the Nou Camp outfit.

However, Arteta has now given his view on the quote by his former player by revealing his side of the story in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side's trip to face Sunderland on Saturday night.

I asked Arteta if he was surprised by Gabriel Jesus' comments, and Ian Wright's comments about Martinelli after he'd expressed before how transparent he'd been about players futures:

"Very surprised, to be fair especially because with Gabriel I had an individual talk...

Speaking to SportyTV, Jesus was asked about his late move to Barcelona and said: "So, the truth is, I was training, I did all the pre-season with Arsenal as normal. Obviously, I knew already that probably I would not play there or get many opportunities, but nobody told me nothing,

"Well, I am a professional. Obviously, I was training with the group. Then, from nothing, they put me to train away from the group. Well, I was training, I was doing my maximum to be ready if I have a chance to play at a high level again. Then, obviously, in the last week, it was very quick."

Jesus did admit that he was aware his time with the Gunners was up with a limited number of chances coming his way, but he was quick to claim that he wasn't made aware of anything happening before he was made to train away from the first team.

Quizzed by Football London's Tom Canton on the issue in his latest press conference, Arteta said:" Very surprised, to be fair especially because with Gabriel I had an individual talk in the dressing room. I don't know what the words were said, it's fine.

"And the words that we used for each other, it was all about gratitude. So, I don't know, it's okay. Sometimes I understand when you have to deliver bad news or news that people don't expect. Those things are reactive. Somebody has to be there to back up, if I have to be. I have to be.

"And I understand what is important is normally what happens three months later, six months later, when Trossard comes in, he's in the dressing room with all of us, the atmosphere and the relation you have and thanks God so far, with all the players that they left, at some point their relationship has been really good. I hope that's the same case."

From Arteta's response, it seems evident that he did speak with Jesus about the potential departure, acknowledging the potential reaction from that, but regardless of any discussions, the Spaniard knew he had to be ruthless this summer and that is what he and Arsenal were.

Jesus was one of many players who had failed to offer the club enough over the past few seasons and his sale was made a priority in the summer transfer window. Despite starting his Gunners career brilliantly, the Brazilian soon struggled for form and became a mere squad option by the time of his departure.

Arteta has had to deal with tricky exits before with the likes of Mattéo Guendouzi and Mesut Özil exiting the club during his first years in charge so he is unlikely to hold any form of grudge following this issue, and should be ready to put it behind him as he takes charge of his side's match at Sunderland tomorrow night in a bid to continue their perfect start to their Premier League title defence.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations