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Arsenal have been dealt a significant injury blow as Gabriel Jesus is set to miss the start of the season.
Jesus was absent from Arsenal's Emirates Cup clash with Monaco on Wednesday with manager Mikel Arteta revealing post game that the Brazilian striker had undergone a procedure in the morning following discomfort in his knee.
As a result, he will not only miss the Community Shield game against Manchester City this weekend, but also the start of the Premier League season.
“Unfortunately, he had a little procedure this morning,” Arteta said. “He had some discomfort in his knee that has been causing some issues and they had to go in and resolve it. It is not something major but he looks to be out for a few weeks I think. It is a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially the way he played against Barcelona (in preseason), and he was in good condition and we lost him.
“We had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible so we decided to do it. It is something related to the previous injury that he had and the surgery. He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved.”
Jesus, of course, missed three months of the 2022/23 season after suffering a knee injury during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.
His absence didn't affect the Gunners' Premier League title challenge all too much as it was only when he was fit that Arsenal started dropping points towards the business end of the season.
However, as Arteta put it, it's still a big blow given that the hope was for Jesus to have a full season leading the line.
The injury also makes things very interesting on the striker front for Arteta. Eddie Nketiah scored against Monaco on Wednesday and could potentially lead the line going forward. Whether the Englishman remains good enough to start for a team with Premier League ambitions remains to be seen, however.
There are other options in the form of Leandro Trossard and even new signing Kai Havertz. But most interestingly of all, Jesus' injury could open the door for wantaway striker Folarin Balogun to remain with the club.
