Arteta responds to Gabriel Jesus over Arsenal exit

Arteta's argument is that the reaction to a difficult conversation looks different once time passes. He said the relationship with players who have left has generally recovered within months, and he hopes the same follows with Jesus.

Mikel Arteta has responded to Gabriel Jesus's claim that he was left in the dark over his exit from Arsenal, saying he sat down with the forward personally before the move to Barcelona went through.

Arteta said: "To be honest, especially with 'Gabi' (Gabriel Jesus), I had an individual conversation in the locker room. The words we exchanged were all of gratitude, but if someone has to be the bad cop, I will be, and I understand it."

Jesus left north London for Barcelona on 1 September, a £12.8 million deal completed on deadline day. Speaking to SportyTV, he said Arsenal kept him out of group training "out of nowhere" and that "nobody told me nothing". Arteta, previewing Saturday's Premier League fixture against Sunderland, called himself "very surprised" by the criticism.

Jesus has made a fast start in Spain: a header from a Lamine Yamal cross helped Barcelona beat Feyenoord 5-1 in the Champions League, his first goal for the club since joining. Arteta faced the same scrutiny over Gabriel Martinelli’s £60m exit. Gabriel Martinelli's £60 million, club-record move to Al Hilal drew a similar complaint from Ian Wright, who said he felt "uncomfortable" with how the switch was handled; Arteta was asked about that as well and pointed instead to Leandro Trossard, sold to Besiktas in July, turning up in the away end for last Sunday's win over Chelsea as evidence that ties with departed players hold up over time.

Trossard's case, he said, is the one he points to first.

He added: "With other players who left at some point, the relationship has improved a lot. I hope this is the case too."