Mikel Arteta admits ‘huge’ Arsenal issue as Gabriel Jesus update emerges

Arsenal are now closing in on their return to action following more than a month on the sidelines.

With the World Cup now completed, the Gunners are just days away from their Premier League return, taking on London rivals West Ham United on Boxing Day. Mikel Arteta’s men will want to hit the ground running after such a fine start to the season, and that will be especially important due to Manchester City not playing until two days laters. That gives Arsenal to put pressure on Pep Guardiola’s men, even if it is still early in the campaign.

In the meantime, we have rounded up the latest news and headlines surrounding the Emirates Stadium.

Jesus message

Arsenal frontman Gabriel Jesus has posted an injury update of sorts on social media as he works towards his recovery from knee surgery.

The Brazilian wrote: “Second week is gone,” on Instagram with a picture of his knee in a brace. It will be some time before the striker returns, reportedly set to miss at least a couple of months of action.

His injury seemed to worsen during his time with Brazil, but national team coach Tite claimed the problem already existed before Jesus turned up for the World Cup.

Arteta on Jesus

Speaking of Jesus, Mikel Arteta has been speaking about the loss of his lead striker to injury.

“It’s a huge blow for us, obviously,” he told the club website. “He’s such an important player: he’s brought something very different to the team and it’s impossible to replace him. But we have other players, other alternatives and we’ll try to get that sorted. The transfer window is another option.

“I think [Jesus] is a unique player but Eddie [Nketiah] has incredible qualities as well for the way we want to play. We have other alternatives in that we can play Martinelli up front as well. We are currently a little bit short in terms of upfront positions but getting Emile [Smith Rowe] back is going to be a big one.”