Mikel Arteta makes Gabriel Jesus injury stance clear as Arsenal set for dilemma

06 November 2023 , 17:00

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Mikel Arteta makes Gabriel Jesus injury stance clear as Arsenal set for dilemma

Gabriel Jesus will not be rushed back to solve Arsenal ’s goal shortage - amid fears that have seen him called up by Brazil.

‌Gunners striker Jesus has missed Arsenal’s last three games because of a hamstring injury which forced him to limp out of their Champions League win at Sevilla last month. Jesus is making good progress but if he featured against Sevilla at the Emirates on Wednesday or against Burnley on Saturday then Brazil would be well within their rights to call him up for their forthcoming World Cup qualifiers with Colombia and Argentina.

‌Brazil star Jesus has been plagued by injury problems since last year’s World Cup and Arsenal are keen to ease him back and would also be fearful about a long trip to South America for the games on November 17 and 22 respectively. Arsenal have missed his goals as, despite Eddie Nketiah scoring a hat trick against Sheffield United, the other two games saw them crash out of the Carabao Cup at West Ham and draw a blank in Saturday’s controversial 1-0 defeat at Newcastle.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta wants to strengthen his striker options with Brentford ’s Ivan Toney a potential January target but they are keen to manage Jesus’ fitness in the coming weeks. Arsenal already have a growing injury list with midfielder Thomas Partey a major concern as he could potentially be out until the end of the year.

‌Arteta has said Partey will be missing for “weeks” after the Ghana star had a groin injury in September and then suffered a muscle injury. That leaves Arsenal short in midfield with Emile Smith Rowe likely to be out for a month because of a knee injury suffered against Sheffield United.

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Gabriel Jesus could be called up by Brazil this week before featuring for Arsenal (David Price/Arsenal FC)

Smith Rowe has been desperate for game time and minutes so was keen to play on even after suffering the injury. Captain Martin Odegaard also missed Saturday’s loss.

Arteta told reporters on Friday: “We have tried to offload him a little bit because he had a little issue that he was grumbling with. "He felt much better in the last few days, and we gave a few minutes against West Ham which was good to see, and his contribution was really good.”

John Cross