Arsenal overcome problem that Aguero feared would derail their title charge
Arsenal have the chance to restore their five point gap at the top of the Premier League table however briefly on Saturday, having seen Manchester City drop points last time out at Nottingham Forest.
The Gunners go to Leicester at 3pm, while City will kick-off some two-and-a-half hours later at Bournemouth.
It has been a remarkable season for the Gunners, with the most consistent theme of Arsenal's campaign coming in the form of overcoming almost every obstacle thrown at them. Last-gasp winners, vital away wins and coming from behind, Mikel Arteta's men have proven they can do it all this term, and they did of those at Aston Villa last weekend.
However, there is one event that many tipped to be the start of Arsenal's downfall, including Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero, and that was injuries to key players. With the World Cup placed in the middle of the season, some saw the international tournament as the event that would put a halt to the Gunners momentum.
The Argentine ace discussed the first half of Arsenal's season back in October and stopped short of claiming he thinks the Gunners can go all the way because of the impact the World Cup might have on them.
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"We're on the first stage of a Premier League that will be different from many others – by and large because we'll have a World Cup in the middle of it. That makes it harder to foresee how it'll turn out," Aguero explained.
"Consistency is the name of the game to win the title and the missing piece is knowing in what condition each player will rejoin their clubs after the World Cup. Arsenal will probably be one of those teams but surely not the only one."
Arsenal have been without Gabriel Jesus since November due to injury (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY!Where will Arsenal finish this season? Comment below
That same belief that Aguero held only increased when news broke that £45million summer signing and talismanic forward Gabriel Jesus had suffered a knee injury out in Qatar while representing Brazil, with the Gunners ace forced to undergo knee surgery that would sideline him for three months.
The title charge was over in the eyes of many, both among Arsenal supporters and neutral fans. No one seemed to view Jesus' deputy Eddie Nketiah as a man capable of steering the ship from the Boxing Day fixture onwards.
And yet, two months later, well back into the swing of things after the World Cup pause and Arsenal still sit top. Nketiah is now the club's top scorer in all competitions this term, while his league tally sits just one shy of Jesus' total.
The England under-21 record goal-scorer has contributed with vital goals against the likes of West Ham, Brighton at the Amex and even a remarkable brace against Manchester United that included a last-gasp winner.
It is a testament to the culture that Arteta has created at Arsenal that a striker who wasn't getting a look in while Jesus was fit and firing has immediately taken to life as the main man with relative ease
Jesus may be in for a surprise when he completes his rehabilitation and doesn't waltz straight back into this Arsenal side, that is certainly something Ageuro or anyone else for that matter could have ever predicted.
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