Mikel Arteta will have a big decision to make at Arsenal next season following the addition of Gabriel Jesus to his first-team squad.
On Monday morning (July 4) it was finally announced that a £45m deal for the Brazil international had been completed, thus making him the Gunners' fourth signing of the summer transfer window thus far following moves for young winger Marquinhos, playmaker Fabio Vieira and goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Perhaps more importantly, Arsenal have a new No 9 in Gabriel Jesus much to the delight of manager Mikel Arteta who earmarked the centre-forward department as a priority to strengthen: "I’m very excited. The club has done a tremendous job to recruit a player of this stature," the Spaniard said.
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"I know Gabriel personally very well, and we all know him well from his time in the Premier League and being really successful here. This is a position that’s been on our radar for a long time now and we have managed to get a player that we all wanted, so I’m really happy."
In wrapping up a deal for Gabriel Jesus, Arteta may have discovered the perfect Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette replacements. Although not just in terms of leading the line next season, but also when it comes to being Arsenal's first-choice penalty taker.
Prior to being stripped of the captaincy last December and then subsequently exiled from the first-team squad and allowed to join Barcelona on a free transfer the following month, Aubameyang - more often than not - when on the pitch was the Gunners' go-to player when awarded a spot-kick.
However, with two missed penalties last season the 32-year-old's record from the spot looked less and less impressive prior to his departure as in total he failed with four in Arsenal colours since after in January 2018 - and he was not afforded the chance to improve on that record.
As a result, Lacazette immediately took over the responsibility as despite missing his one and only penalty for the club in a 2-0 win over West Ham United last season, he proved to be one of the most reliable penalty takers in the Gunners' squad with his 10th and final successful spot-kick coming against Leicester City in March.
Having not been a starter for the final eight games of the 2021/22 campaign, it meant the Frenchman wasn't on the pitch when Arsenal were awarded penalties against Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton. Not that it was a problem as in Bukayo Saka (2x) and Gabriel Martinelli there was a 100% success rate.
But could the pair face a challenge from the club's new signing for penalty duties next season? Considering Gabriel Jesus is likely to be the Gunners' main source of goals, there's every chance he could be installed as the first-choice taker whenever the team is awarded a spot-kick.
Although, as per transfermarkt, there could be a problem with his potential plan as of the 12 penalties he's taken throughout his career thus far for club and country, only five have been converted and three of his seven misses have come in the Premier League - one against Tottenham in the 2017/18 season.
Based on how last season concluded for Arsenal, it's safe to say that currently, it's between Saka and Martinelli as to who is the first-choice penalty taker heading into the new campaign. Now the arrival of Gabriel Jesus will almost certainly add a new name to the mix but whether Arteta will be tempted to reverse this decision remains to be seen.
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