‘Liverpool should bite’ – Glen Johnson urges Reds to swoop for ‘exceptional’ £45m Arsenal player

Glen Johnson has implored Liverpool to ‘jump at’ the potential chance to sign one Arsenal player this summer if he’s made available for transfer.

TEAMtalk claimed that the Gunners are in the market for a new centre-forward, with Mikel Arteta open to offloading Eddie Nketiah, although ‘a sizeable offer’ for Gabriel Jesus ‘could yet twist their arm’.

Speaking to Betfred in light of that speculation (via TEAMtalk), the former Reds defender states that the Merseysiders should be all over the Brazil international if he’s made available.

Johnson said: “I would be surprised if Arsenal does actually want to sell him because I think that would be crazy. If he does become available, either Chelsea or Liverpool should bite Arsenal’s arm off.

“He’s not going to get you 25 goals a season, but he’s going to be a big part of the team and he works his socks off. In front of goal, he’s going to score a lot of goals at a club like that where he’ll get a lot of opportunities. Chelsea and Liverpool should absolutely jump at the chance.”

Could Jesus be worth considering for Liverpool if Arsenal were to make him available this summer, just two years after they signed him from Manchester City for £45m?

The 27-year-old has more than proven himself at an elite level, netting 73 times in 211 Premier League appearances and boasting an excellent return of 24 goals in 46 Champions League games (Transfermarkt), so his pedigree is undoubted.

He’d also give incoming head coach Arne Slot the option of playing him anywhere across the frontline, though he mainly operates as a centre-forward. Meanwhile, his former Man City boss Pep Guardiola has hailed him as a player who ‘will give everything’, while Jurgen Klopp once dubbed him ‘exceptional‘.

However, despite Arsenal taking the title race to the final day of the season, Jesus hasn’t scored in 12 outings since the end of January, his slump in form coinciding with a prolific streak for Kai Havertz, who isn’t a conventional number 9.

Also, even if the Gunners were to put the 27-year-old up for sale, it seems highly unlikely that they’d sell to a direct domestic rival in Liverpool. They made that mistake before by allowing Robin van Persie to join Manchester United, who duly romped to the title in the Dutchman’s first year at Old Trafford.

The Brazilian forward certainly wouldn’t be a half-bad option for the Reds to have, but realistically the chances of him moving to Anfield in the foreseeable future are remote.