Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe has revealed that he 'couldn't believe' Manchester City's decision to allow Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to sign for Mikel Arteta's side in the summer transfer window. The Gunners added the two former City stars to Arteta's squad for a combined fee of £75million with both players having a huge impact at the Emirates Stadium.
Zinchenko has been influential since arriving from the Etihad Stadium, replacing Kieran Tierney as Arteta's number one choice at left-back. Jesus has been a revelation in attack despite being sidelined for over three months with a long-term injury.
The Brazilian striker sustained a serious knee injury during the World Cup in Qatar before returning to action for the Gunners in their 3-0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage earlier this month. Smith Rowe has played just 186 minutes for the north Londoners this term after undergoing surgery to fix a groin issue earlier in the 2022/23 campaign.
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The Hale End graduate has now admitted he 'couldn't believe' that City sold Jesus and Zinchenko to Arsenal considering the amazing impact they've had in turning the Gunners into Premier League title challengers. Smith Rowe said: "I couldn’t believe it to be fair [Man City letting Jesus and Zinchenko leave to join Arsenal].
"Even in training, when I came back from training, they were so good. Obviously, Gabby got injured, but Zinchenko’s one of the best technical players I’ve ever seen.
"The likes of Zinchenko and Gabby Jesus [joining], I felt like it changed the whole dynamic. They’ve been there, they know what it’s like to win stuff.
"I’d definitely say a lot of it [challenging for the title] is down to them two because their mentality was indescribable. We’re all aiming for one thing at the end of the season.
"Obviously, we’re not talking about it because anything can happen. I hope we can be very happy at the end of the season.”
Arsenal return to Premier League action this weekend with a tough test against Leeds at the Emirates Stadium. Arteta's side currently sit eight points clear of City at the top of the table, but Pep Guardiola's side have a game in hand in which they could close the gap back down to five points ahead of their huge clash at the Etihad Stadium later this season.
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