The genius Arsenal and Manchester United transfer swap deal that could revive two outcast superstars - opinion

Arsenal and Manchester United head into this transfer window with very different priorities and capabilities having finished second and 15th last season, but both clubs have outcast players that could thrive by swapping places this summer.

United and Amorim have been the busier side so far this summer but require a bigger overhaul with more strength and depth needed as the Portuguese boss hopes to finally kick-start the Red Devils in his image, and number 10 is a major need despite the arrivals of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.

Meanwhile Arteta desperately needs a threat on the left side after Arsenal were the most right-wing club in the Premier League last season launching 43% of attacks down Bukayo Saka’s flank. So clubs could upgrade with a swap deal that would free two of the players most in need of a fresh start: Gabriel Jesus plus cash for Marcus Rashford.

Gabriel Jesus heaven-sent to shine in Ruben Amorim’s system

It’s hard to remember now, but Gabriel Jesus arrived in England with a fearsome reputation but he lived up in his first few seasons at the Etihad Stadium.

The former Brazilian Best Newcomer of the year hit a career-best 13 league goals in his first full season at Manchester City, after firing seven in 10 the previous half-season, brimming with the confidence of a 19-21 year-old who seemingly had the Premier League at his feet. However, playing in Pep Guardiola’s rigid system had taken its toll by the start of the 2020/21 season and Jesus never hit double-figures in the top flight again for Manchester City in a downfall that appeared almost as rapid as his rise.

Guardiola sapped that confidence and joie de vivre, with Jesus telling the Denilson Show: "There was a Champions League game, PSG, at home, in which he put [Oleksandr] Zinchenko as a false 9. Crazy thing. The day before, he didn't even use [Zinchenko] in training, he had put me in as a striker. ... Zinchenko even joked with me: 'that day I felt bad for you.'

"Two hours before the game, there's a team talk, the team eats, rests for 30 minutes and goes to the game. He told us the team, I didn't even eat. I went straight to the room, crying, I called my mother to talk: 'I want to leave.' I'm going home, because he put [Zinchenko] on, and he didn't put me on. He put a left-back there. I went crazy. There was a lot of that with him [Guardiola], and it's not easy.”

And after a strong pre-season and start to life at Arsenal, the familiar ghosts have returned as Arteta has enforced a more regimented role on his £45 million arrival. Jesus wouldn’t be the answer at striker in Amorim’s system as that profile is again quite constricted - Viktor Gyokeres is a very very different player - but he’d thrive in a freer role as a number 10, buzzing around the final third creating and taking chances.

Players like Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho have failed in that position because their natural game is holding the width for longer whereas Amorim wants his playmakers entering through the top of the penalty area rather than the sides, and keeping the wide channels clear for wing-backs only.

And unlike most arrivals at Old Trafford, Jesus is already such a depressed asset that he can’t really regress so many previous Manchester United signings.

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta can get Marcus Rashford back to his best

If Jesus thought being replaced by Zinchenko was bad, try Amorim saying he’d select Manchester United’s 63-year-old goalkeeping coach ahead of Rashford.

But Arsenal need both a winger and more goals so a rejuvenated Rashford kills two birds with one stone. It seems a lot longer ago than just 24 months that the now 27-year-old was coming to the end of a golden season of 30 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, yet he showed at Villa Park that class is permanent.

Myles Lewis-Skelly and Rashford would be a dream combination on the left flank, left-footed and right-footed respectively the latter is more suited to cutting inside which would leave space for the young gun to overlap and help form the front five that modern tactics are all aiming to manufacture. Manchester United can book Rashford as pure profit as an academy graduate while Arsenal are one of few clubs that could accommodate his current wages and transfer fee with the Red Devils demanding £40 million for him.

Arsenal were selling Gabriel Jesus for €40m (£34m) earlier this season but it’s safe to assume that price will have dropped by £4-14m after another poor return of just 9 goal contributions. So both clubs could fill a major need at prices that reflect their current financial situations, and each player would escape being held prisoner under managers that clearly don’t want them - a win for everyone involved.