Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus has hailed team-mate Gabriel Martinelli as 'an animal' after getting to grips with his new squad during pre-season.

The 25-year-old striker completed a £45million move from Manchester City at the beginning of the month - which he has now claimed is 'the best decision that I could have made'.

He's taken like a duck to water, scoring three goals in three pre-season appearances for the Gunners, and has now heaped massive praise upon some of his new team-mates.

Gabriel Jesus claims his move to Arsenal 'was the best decision' he could've made this summer

During an interview on podcast, Jesus was of full praise when his team-mate's name was mentioned and said: ‘Woah! Martinelli – he’s an animal. An animal! He never gets tired!

‘[My new team-mates] at the club are so hungry, they’re desperate to get this club back to winning a Premier League after 20 years. This kind of challenge excites me a lot to be here.

 ‘I wanted a new challenge. I want to play every game, that’s why I came here. I compare this Arsenal team with the City team when I arrived there. There’s a lot of young players.'

The 25-year-old became Mikel Arteta's fourth signing of the summer after Manchester City's bolstered their attack with the acquisitions of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez. 

Jesus continued: ‘I’m a person that thinks a lot. I’ve been thinking about [leaving City] for one or two years. The best decision that I could have made is to be here at Arsenal.

‘I needed to play football with a smile on my face again. My mother watched our game [against Orlando City] and called me to say, “I can see you’re different, you’re playing happy!” I got emotional hearing that.’

‘Everybody at the club has received me so well. I’m two or three years older than most players here but they look at me as a very experienced player. I like that. I like to be a role model for other players.’ 

Meanwhile the Gunners are closing in on their fifth recruit of the window in Oleksandr Zinchenko - Jesus' former team-mate at City.

Zinchenko, 25, was in the stands for Arsenal's 3-1 win over Orlando City on Wednesday night as he nears a £32million move from Manchester City. 

Arteta wants to use Zinchenko at left back – as cover for Kieran Tierney – and in midfield.

The Gunners next pre-season friendly sees them take on London rivals Chelsea in Orlando, in the early hours of Sunday morning.