Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus, [Photo football.london]
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has had minor knee surgery and will miss the start of the Premier League season.
Jesus did not play in last night’s preseason win over Monaco and manager Mikel Arteta confirmed afterwards that the Brazil forward will be out “for a few weeks’ ‘ after a “little procedure’ ‘.
“Unfortunately he had a little procedure this morning,” Arteta said when asked about Jesus. “He’s had some discomfort in his knee that caused him some issues so they had to go in. He’s going to be out for a few weeks.”
The 26-year-old’s injury is related to the knee problems he had last season, which also required surgery.
Speaking after Arsenal beat Monaco 6-5 on penalties and secured the emirates cup the Gunners boss has described the loss as a big blow and unfortunate for the squad.
He added: “It is a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially with the way he played against Barcelona and he was in good condition but unfortunately we lost him. We had to look at it and we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible. We decided to do it.
Eddie Nketiah is now likely to lead Arsenal’s line in those games and he captained the Gunners against Monaco as Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber made their first Emirates starts.