Pep Guardiola's decision to bet on a deal with Man City has been vindicated by Julian Alvarez.
Many people thought that Arsenal's capture of Gabriel Jesus was a big coup when he finally left the Etihad Stadium this summer.
Whether on the wings or through the middle, the Brazilian was never able to secure a starting position in the City team. This inconsistent playing time and the role was never ideal for a player whose performances appeared to be largely a result of the confidence he had in himself at the time.
He had an impressive debut for City, scoring the game-winning goal in the closing 10 minutes of a 2-2 tie with Tottenham after coming off the bench, only to have it disallowed for offside. Jesus then finished the 2016–17 campaign by scoring seven goals in his first eight City appearances. But by November 2017, Sergio Aguero had reclaimed the starting position when the goals stopped coming.
It appears right now that the past might be repeating itself. In his first 10 Arsenal games, Jesus had five goals and four assists, but after that quick start, the goals and assists have slowed down substantially.
After nine games without a goal, questions that City supporters are accustomed to hearing are suddenly starting to surface. He has now gone eight games without scoring or recording an assist in all competitions, except for his two assists in a 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
City supporters are well aware of Jesus' propensity to miss when scoring seems easier, and the No. 9 player for Arsenal has now missed more significant opportunities than any other player in the top five leagues in Europe (11).
Of all, the sole purpose of a modern striker is not to score goals; Jesus makes a significant contribution to both the offensive and defensive aspects of the game. He has undoubtedly been
a significant contributor to Arsenal's success this season, especially during his nine-game goal drought.
Just last season, Pep Guardiola stated of Jesus, "When we need runners and players that contribute a lot with our high energy and intense pressing, he is the best in the world." Despite this, barely four months later he was ready to let him go.
Even though a fluid City team where goals may come from wherever on the field made his lack of goal-scoring ability less of an issue, the club believed they could do much worse than to make £45 million from the sale of the Brazilian striker.
The summer saw City bring in two strikers: Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, an ex-River Plate striker who was less well-known but no less good.
Alvarez's numbers already look good in comparison to Jesus, who ought to be savoring the rhythm provided by playing every game week in and week out, something Alvarez has been denied thus far. This season, Alvarez has only made three starts and had to make do with numerous cameos at the end of games that were already won.
Although Alvarez has a considerably lower predicted goals per 90 minutes number, he is averaging 0.75 goals per 90 minutes in the Premier League, whereas Jesus is scoring 0.4 goals per 90. This shows that despite having more difficult opportunities to score, Alvarez is scoring more goals while he is on the pitch.
Jesus drastically underperforms on his predicted goals total while Alvarez performs above it.
The Argentine is also remarkably accurate with his finishing, hitting the target with exactly 50% of his shots as opposed to Jesus's 44%. This season, 60% of Alvarez's shots on goal have led to goals. A little under 20% of Arsenal's No. 9's shots on goal have resulted in goals.
Alvarez is proving to be a great acquisition, even defensively. His work rate on the field is obvious to all, and he is already surpassing Jesus in terms of tackles and blocks per 90 minutes. He harassed Fulham's defenders and pursued frivolous causes against Fulham last weekend, creating opportunities.
His tenacity is similar to Carlos Tevez's when he was a member of the team.
The pearl-clutching over City's summer departures does appear to have been unwarranted in many cases, though. Jesus' departure has had little effect on the side, and Alvarez's addition appears to be just what the club needs to fill Jesus' position.
Except for one striker who plays on the wing rather than upfront, City has gone from having no strikers to having two incredibly gifted strikers with very distinct styles. As Alvarez has already demonstrated, he is capable of playing as a striker, a wide forward, or a second striker, this gives Pep Guardiola a plethora of alternatives.
All of this is not meant to imply that Jesus is a subpar athlete; on the contrary, he is an incredibly gifted striker whose City fans were always impressed by his work ethic and technical prowess. Even though it was difficult to see him go, particularly after the blazing start to his tenure in Manchester that he ultimately wasn't able to build upon, City supporters can rest easy knowing that the team is now better than it was at the end of the previous campaign.
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