Mikel Arteta and all Arsenal fans now know the seriousness of the injury to Gabriel Jesus, and everyone is wondering how the Gunners will be able to cope without our Brazilian striker.
After our opening game in the Dubai Super Cup, in which we beat Lyon 3-0, Arteta faced the press for the first time since the World Cup began, and of course he was asked about the situation with Jesus’ injury. The first question was if he knew how long Jesus would be out of action.” No.” Arteta replied. “We know that he needed some intervention in the knee. We’ll have to take it day by day, week by week and see [where] it takes us.”
Many people have suggested that his place in the middle could be taken by his fellow Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli, so that was the next question. “We look at the squad and we consider every option obviously, with the players that we have available. There are things that we can try if we have the need to do so.”
And of course the big question that all Gooners would ask him first is whether it would affect Arsenal’s transfer strategy in January. He replied: “What it affects is who we are as a team because he gives us so much, so what we can do after that, when we know the timescale [of his recovery] and when we can have him back, we will look at the options and try to make the right decision.”
Obviously Arteta will have a lot to ponder, with Nketiah desperate to get a run at centre-forward and with Martinelli as an option (especially if we get Mudryk), or whether he will go all out in January to bring in another oven-ready top class striker.
I am feeling pretty confident that Arteta and Edu will study the options in depth, and will then come up with the best solution for Arsenal. They certainly have a good track record so far!
Sam P
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