Arsenal: Joao Cancelo would make Jesus unplayable

The Gunners could be set to once again sign from a rival.

Arsenal could be set to once again swoop from a rival, given the success already earned in recent years…

Is Joao Cancelo joining Arsenal?

With Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko having joined last summer from Manchester City, and Kai Havertz tempted from Chelsea just last month, it seems Mikel Arteta is unafraid to boost the coffers of a Premier League side if it means getting his main target.

Spanish outlet Sport is now reporting that they could be set to repeat such a trick, reigniting their long-held interest in Joao Cancelo and bolstering the squad further.

With the Portugal international having been sent on loan to Bayern Munich for the second half of last season, his return has clearly not had any impact on his standing with Pep Guardiola. He remains surplus to requirements, and now the Gunners could profit.

They are referenced as still very interested in making a move, although the €50m (£43m) price tag that looms over the 29-year-old could provide a stumbling block given their spending recently surpassed £200m with the acquisitions of Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber.

With Barcelona also looming, they will want to act quickly if they are to seal a move.

How good is Joao Cancelo?

Before his Bavarian banishment, the revolutionary defender had the whole world watching his imperious performances in a City shirt.

He has one of the first to popularise the inverted full-back role which is so common today, as an unrelenting creative influence from defence.

During the 2021/22 season, which was his last full campaign in English football, he enjoyed one of his finest personal years as his side claimed the Premier League title. Maintaining a 7.33 average rating, his eight goal contributions fed into his 1.1 key passes per game.

That’s not to suggest he completely shirked his defensive duties though, also managing 2.3 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game, via Sofascore.

Should he recapture any semblance of his form at the Etihad, it could come back to bite Guardiola, who would have directly improved a title rival yet again.

However, as aforementioned he did so last year with Jesus and Zinchenko and still made history, winning the league, FA Cup and Champions League. The former of the players, however, is set to have a big year in north London, seeking to avenge his injury woes and enjoy a full campaign of goalscoring.

After all, he had started the season with nine goal contributions in his first eight league matches before the World Cup, finishing on 18 for the season despite missing 12 consecutive league games through injury.

To once again reunite the silky forward with Cancelo could see a partnership instantly struck, that would add even more goals to his name on the way to securing the title.

Especially considering the offensive improvement the former Juventus star offers on Ben White, and therefore the potential increase in chances Jesus is set to attain from a wide and inverted area.

Last term saw the 25-year-old makeshift right-back record just 0.7 key passes per game in the league, a far cry from the levels the playmaking defender has set. Indeed, during his entire City career, Cancelo has posted 22 assists at 0.14 per game to White’s five in London at 0.05 a match.

Bayern’s director Hasan Salihamidžić even outlined this, noting: “João will still be a very important player for us. He hasn’t been playing, training the way he had imagined lately. We’re communicating well with him. He’s an outstanding player who’ll be important.”

Cancelo could now prove more than important for Arteta, adding the supplementary firepower needed to take Jesus’ goalscoring to the stratosphere and fire them to a first title since 2004.