Sport
Gabriel Jesus’ injury problem for Arsenal
With World Cup 2022 in the middle of the season rather than the middle of the year, every Premier League club feared their players getting injured in Qatar. Earlier this month, Arsenal received the dreaded news: Gabriel Jesus had damaged his knee and would need surgery, after which he would be sidelined for up to three months.
That is a huge blow to Mikel Arteta’s side. Ahead of the season’s resumption on Boxing Day, Arsenal have a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table. They massively exceeded expectations in the first part of the season, winning 12 and drawing one of their first 14 top-flight encounters.
Yet we are still just over a third of the way through the campaign and plenty can change between now and the end of May. One thing that could derail Arsenal’s title tilt is a relative lack of squad depth: Arteta has fewer options available to him in virtually every position than Pep Guardiola.
The issue is particularly pronounced in certain areas of the pitch, including up front. Jesus is one of Arsenal’s most important players. His goal return is nothing to write home about – the former Manchester City man has found the net five times in 14 Premier League outings for his new club – but he is an integral part of the Arsenal attack.
Jesus has excelled at linking the play and bringing others into the game. He regularly drops deep and takes opponents out of the game with his quick feet and acceleration across the ground.
Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, who have scored four and five goals respectively, are made better players by the presence of Jesus, whose combination of technical ability and tactical intelligence means he is a certain starter when fit.
The problem is, he will not be until late February at the earliest. Before then, Arsenal face crunch clashes with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Manchester City. Arteta’s side will need to find a way to cope without their focal point at the top of the pitch.
The manager would no doubt like to add another centre-forward to the ranks in January, but we cannot rely on that happening. For one, it might take a few weeks to line up a deal and a few more for the player to settle in. And signing the right player will not necessarily be straightforward: Joao Felix, who has been strongly linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium, is also wanted by the likes of Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain.
In the short-term, Eddie Nketiah will step into Jesus’ shoes. The 23-year-old could have left Arsenal in the summer in search of more regular first-team football, but he decided to stay put knowing he would not be first choice. Jesus’ absence gives him the chance to prove why he was right to turn down moves elsewhere.
However, it is hard to avoid the feeling that Jesus to Nketiah is a significant step down. The former England Under-21 international impressed at the end of last season but he does not offer as much as the Brazilian outside the penalty area. One thing is for sure, though: Nketiah will relish the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.
