Matheus Cunha linked as Arsenal ponder Gabriel Jesus upgrade

As Jesus ran onto the ball having beaten the Monaco offside trap in the 26th minute on Wednesday night in the Champions League game, there was a collective gritting of teeth inside the Emirates as all manner of appendages were crossed.

It's hard not to like him. As Mikel Arteta said when asked about the Brazilian's future ahead of the game, "his attitude is always good". He's also more than just the try-hard that comment suggests, and a growing number of Arsenal fans have dismissed him as, through this barren spell.

He was Arsenal's best player for the first six months after arriving from Manchester City in the summer of 2022 as the guy who piggybacked the club from Champions League-qualification chasers to title contenders. He may not be at the club for much longer, but his role in their rise under Arteta has been significant.

It feels like he's reached the point of no return at the Emirates though. It never felt likely he was going to score having raced clear of the Monaco defence, with his chest down and shot in one motion full of angst as Radoslaw Majecki spread himself well to block the snatched effort.

Two minutes later Jesus was bearing down on goal once more, took three or four decent touches, but again saw his shot saved by the Polish goalkeeper. He Could Have Been There All Night. That's now one goal in 32 games, which, let's be clear, is a honking record for a striker of his technical ability.

He showed his quality on Wednesday through getting those chances, his movement remains very good, and as he whipped the ball across the six-yard box for Bukayo Saka to tap in Arsenal's opener. But on a different night against superior opposition, missing those gilt-edged chances may have proved costly, and as the January window approaches, Arsenal and Arteta should at least be open to his exit.

"No sense," Arteta said when a journalist brought up a report linking Jesus with a return to Palmeiras in January ahead of the clash with Monaco. If they fail to source a replacement he's right. Having Kai Havertz as their only option would be a madness.

But in a season in which, despite Liverpool's excellence thus far, they arguably have their best chance of winning the title since they last won it two decades ago thanks to Manchester City's incredible fall from grace, and possibly a better chance than they'll have for the next five years given the momentum behind The Chelsea Project, to say it makes "no sense" to source a Jesus upgrade if they're able to do so makes, well⦠no sense.

The Arsenal fans will argue over the need for A Proper Striker until the cows come home, but assuming Arteta instead wants a play-linking forward who drops deep like Jesus or Kai Havertz, Matheus Cunha feels like the obvious choice.

He's been brilliant in a terrible Wolves side this season and would presumably jump at the chance to move to Arsenal, who have been linked with a £62m move. He's very like Jesus and Havertz, possibly better than both of them, and certainly a better option to compete with Havertz for a starting spot in the first XI. It's no stretch at all to imagine him thriving in that Arsenal team.

It was Kiwior's 50-yard pass which set Jesus on his way and the Poland international was excellent throughout having got pelters from the Arsenal fans for his failure to stop Raul Jimenez scoring in the 1-1 draw with Fulham on Sunday.

It seemed more like excellent forward play than bad defending to us and there's surely a case to be made that the Gunners fans have simply been spoiled by the consistent brilliance of centre-back duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. Not being on their level isn't proof of Kiwior being terrible or even unworthy of Arsenal.

If anything they're very fortunate to have a fifth-choice centre-back as good as him. And although he's supposedly angling for the exit door in search of more game time, their current injury woes at the back and the performance he put in on Wednesday highlighted their need to keep him.

His exit in January would make less "sense" than Jesus', who will at best play a bit-part role while collecting his £265,000-per-week wage for the rest of the campaign, assuming they have the funds for a replacement.

While Havertz is clear of Arsenal's Brazilian, Wolves' Brazilian would provide genuine competition for a starting spot in a season in which even a small increase in quality could be enough to see them win a major trophy.

READ MORE: Mikel Arteta - January window an 'opportunity to strengthen'