Barcelona have finally conceded defeat in their seemingly impossible pursuit of Julian Alvarez and shocked the football world with their choice of a new striker. Gabriel Jesus is heading to Catalonia in a deal worth around 10,000,000 euros plus bonuses. Once it became clear that Atletico would not give in to Julian's pressure and attempts to force a move, Barca abandoned the idea and turned to other options. There were not many of them. And there was not much time either, with just over two days remaining before the transfer window closes. All the top-class No. 9s are tied down by contracts at their respective clubs, so Barcelona had to dig around in the secondary market.BREAKING: Barcelona agree deal in principal with Arsenal to sign Gabriel Jesus for £8.6m (€10m) 🚨All sides are now working on the details of the deal and it is progressing towards a conclusion ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/wtt5vFMFOG— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 30, 2026 Jesus had long since fallen out of favor at Arsenal. Under Arteta, he was the third-choice striker, although midfielder Mikel Merino actually played that role more often. Jesus had also been targeted by Napoli as a potential replacement for Romelu Lukaku and an alternative to Rasmus Hojlund, but those negotiations never really got off the ground. Barcelona's second choice behind Alvarez was his compatriot Lautaro Martínez, but Inter were equally unwilling to even contemplate selling their Argentine striker. Other names were also mentioned, including Luis Suarez (Sporting), Fisnik Asllani (Hoffenheim), Nicola Tresoldi (Club Brugge), Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund) and Georges Mikautadze (Villarreal). However, none of those options were particularly convincing to Barcelona's sporting department, nor were they cheap enough for the club's financial department.City calls for Alvarez, ‘the Spider’ is back at trainingGabriel Jesus ultimately arrives as something of a consolation prize, simply because there were so few realistic alternatives. A No. 9 was desperately needed by Hansi Flick's side, given that both centre-forwards from last season, Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, have left this August. It will be interesting to see what salary Jesus receives in Catalonia. He was earning a substantial 9,000,000 euros net per season in north London, which proved a stumbling block for clubs interested in him, including Napoli, Everton, Fenerbahçce, Ipswich and Milan. On that salary, he would immediately rank among Barcelona's highest-paid players.Arsenal's Gabriels in high demand: Napoli and Galatasaray eye Brazilian duoGabriel Jesus arrived in European football ten years ago as one of the biggest talents in Brazilian football. Manchester City paid Palmeiras 32,000,000 euros for him at the time. During six years at the Etihad, he made 236 appearances and scored 95 goals in all competitions. However, he managed to reach double figures in Premier League goals in only two seasons. That did not stop Arsenal from signing him in June 2022 for a deal worth 52,000,000 euros. He was a regular starter only in his first season. In the second, he increasingly began coming off the bench, while over the last two seasons he became a fully-fledged reserve.Confident Barca warms up – 2 goals for the win, Rodri makes his debutWith one year left on his contract, Arteta no longer seriously counted on him, while his high salary made him difficult for Arsenal to move on. That was until Barcelona suddenly appeared. Arsenal did not haggle much, managing to secure around 10,000,000 euros in compensation and finally getting him off their books. A significantly more important role awaits him at Barca than the one he had at Arsenal. He is the only natural No. 9 in the squad, although Raphinha has looked perfectly comfortable in that role during the first two games of the season. It is therefore reasonable to expect Flick to continue with the Brazilian up front, with his compatriot arriving from Arsenal as the alternative.LA LIGA – MATCHDAY 3FridayRacing Santander – Elche 3-2 (3-0)/Zabiri 15, 21, 36 – Sangare 78, Nino 79/Alaves – Villarreal 1-0 (1-0)/Boye 31/SaturdayLevante – Real Betis 5-2 (2-2)/Dela 24, Bardeli 45+1, Brugue 56, 70, Olasagasti 90+5 – Bartra 34, Riquelme 45+4/Real Sociedad – Espanyol 2-1 (1-1)/Barrenetxea 4, Oskarsson 61 – Fernandez Jaen 45/Sevilla – Atletico Madrid 1-3 (0-3)/Sierra 66 – Baena 4, 33, Lookman 26/Sunday18.00: (1.13) Real Madrid (9.00) Malaga (17.0)20.30: (2.55) Deportivo A Coruna (3.05) Valencia (3.00)22.30: (2.40) Celta (3.30) Athletic Bilbao (3.00)Monday20.30: (2.25) Osasuna (3.10) Getafe (3.50)22.30: (1.18) Barcelona (7.75) Rayo Vallecano (13.0)***odds are subject to change***