Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus said he feels “free” playing under Mikel Arteta and that he decided to leave Manchester City this summer because he needed a change after five years at the Etihad Stadium under Pep Guardiola.
Jesus joined Arsenal from City for an initial £45 million this summer after failing to cement himself as a first-team regular with the Premier League champions.
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The Brazil international started just over half of City’s Premier League games last season and when he was selected was often used as a wide forward with Guardiola preferring to utilize a false nine.
“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.”
