Dealing with a Gabriel Jesus Injury
The Arsenal striker has picked up a knee injury that has ended his World Cup and might potentially keep him out of action for somewhere between 1 to 3 months. How can Arsenal cope with this?
The Gabriel Jesus news is worrying and that has been amplified by the uncertainty around the amount of time that his recent knee injury will keep him out of the team.
The initial reports suggested that this might be a one-month type absence. That obviously sucks and ended his World Cup but it would have meant maybe he misses just a couple of matches for Arsenal returning in early January. The latest report now coming out is that this could require surgery and would mean a three-month absence from the team. Missing three-months would be significantly more serious and would likely mean a return in March and potentially missing half of Arsenal’s remaining Premier League fixtures and potentially a round-of-16 Europa League matchup.
This leaves Arsenal in a very tough position, they have a five-point lead at the top of the table but are looking to hold off a Manchester City team that feels like Thanos with their inevitability to just keep accumulating points. The task of holding off Manchester City felt daunting with a healthy team and even with the lead Arsenal was still underdogs to maintain that lead. Without their transformative striker, the task feels so much harder.
And yes, Jesus has been transformative for Arsenal.
He is underperforming on goals but adding so much to the Arsenal attack that it would be very silly to think he has been anything other than a smashing success for the team this season.
So if there is an extended absence of Jesus there are a few options for Arsenal.
Do nothing, roll with the players that Arsenal have, leaning on Eddie Nketiah/Gabriel Martinelli/Emile Smith Rowe to step up and fill the gap.
Really prioritize getting in an attacking player, but maybe look at one that can also play through the middle.
Try to sign a replacement striker good enough to start
Let’s go through the options.
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