Brazilian team Palmeiras reportedly reached out to Arsenal in an ambitious move made to re-sign Gabriel Jesus, with the Gunners refusing them.  According to Globo Esporte, Palmeiras are keen on re-signing Jesus next year. However, his current club have refused their offer, with Mikel Arteta seeing him as a vital part of his squad.  Jesus has been lukewarm since joining Arsenal from Manchester City in a €52 million deal in July 2022. The attacker from South America, who signed a contract with €10 million-a-year wages, was one of the players that signified that Arterta was ready to turn the Gunners into worthy challengers for the Premier League title.  Although Jesus initially impressed with his hold-up play and ability to bring Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli into the match, he has not been productive in terms of scoring. He only mustered 19 goals and 15 assists in 76 appearances so far for Arsenal in the last two years.  Now, there is widespread speculation that the Gunners might sell Jesus and search the football market for a better striker. However, they have refused to give him up in the summer transfer window. Despite this, Palmeiras still wants to get him back to their side.

Palmeiras are interested in Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus. Bola VIP says they have their eye on Jesus. The Brazilian giants want to sign a high-profile for their attack next year and Gabriel Jesus has come up as an option.  Jesus was playing for Palmeiras before joining Manchester City in January 2017. His contract with Arsenal will last until the summer of 2027. 

Fans need no physical tickets, membership cards or e-tickets. To enter Allianz Parque at Palmeiras, only facial recognition is needed. The technology was developed as a solution to a problem every club in Brazil is facing: ticket touting.  “Before we implemented facial biometrics, ticket touters would legally join Avanti, the club’s supporter programme, buy tickets within our system and then sell them for prices well above what we charged, which is a crime,” Everaldo Coelho Palmeiras’ marketing director explains.  “It was something that bothered us a lot, because our fans, including Avanti members entitled to priority purchase, were unable to get tickets for Palmeiras matches.” This revolution in changing the way fans can access the stadium has been good for the club. In August, Palmeiras hit a milestone of 200,000 active fan members, a record in Brazil. They got 62,000 new members between January and July this year. Due to this, the team expects to rake in over R$70 million (£9.5m) with Avanti in 2024.  Palmeiras claims to be the first football club in the world to adopt the facial biometrics system for all access to the stadium on match days. In Brazil, article 148 of the General Sports Law (LGE) stated that all sports arenas with a capacity of over 20,000 people must have facial recognition on their turnstiles by June 2025.  With these requirements, teams have gradually started adopting technology, but no other club demands facial recognition at 100% of its entrances. There are instances like Flamengo, which uses the system for all tickets sold online, but still sells physical tickets.  “We studied a number of technological options and realised that the problem could only be solved by facial recognition,” Coelho says . Palmeiras won’t reveal how much it spent to implement facial biometrics at Allianz, in a project carried out with Bepass. “I can say, however, that the investment is worth it,” says the marketing director.

Arsenal could explore the South American market again. This time it’s for Brazilian prodigy Vitor Reis. According to an X post from Diario AS’ Edu Borges, the Gunners are one of three Premier League sides who have ‘sounded out’ Palmeiras for teenager Vitor Reis.  Reis is only 18, but he has stunned spectators with his performances in recent weeks. He has started 10 matches for Palmeiras since the beginning of July. He just made his senior debut as a substitute against Fortaleza at the end of June.  Borges, who works for AS, states that besides Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have also monitored Reis. But, he claims that Real Madrid are also scouting the defender.  Reis has been captain of Brazil’s Under 17 team since the beginning of last year. He started all but one game at the South American Under 17 Championships as his club won 7 of their 9 fixtures.  Although Reis only made his debut for Palmeiras back in June, he has been attracting interest from clubs.  Spanish newspaper Diario AS wrote on their website: “Among Reis’ qualities as a player, two particularly notable traits are his good positioning and tactical intelligence.” He signed a new contract with Palmeiras at the start of August with his deal ending in 2028. He can play as a right-sided defender or left-sided defender which could be crucial for Mikel Arterta’s club if they sign him.  West Ham signed Palmerias’ Luis Guilherme earlier this summer while Real Madrid just concluded Endrick’s signing in 2023. Vitor could be the next Brazilian Serie A star to join European football.