Gabriel Jesus, a Brazilian striker, was absent from the Emirates Cup match on Wednesday against Monaco, which the Gunners won 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in north London.
After the game, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed that the Brazilian striker will be out for a few weeks after undergoing surgery on his knee.
Arteta said that Jesus was still struggling with the knee injury he sustained in December while on National duty with Brazil at the Qatar World Cup.
“Unfortunately, he had a little procedure this morning, 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,” he said after the match.
Arteta also admitted that the injury was a huge blow because the team needs him back to his best
“It is a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially the way he played against Barcelona last Wednesday and he was in good condition and 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,” he explained
Jesus to miss community shield match.
Jesus’s surgery automatically disqualifies him from Sunday’s Community Shield match against Manchester City, and he is also very certain to miss Arsenal’s opening Premier League games this month.
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After he sustained an injury in December, Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard, and Nketiah stepped in to ensure that the Gunners continued to score crucial goals even without their talisman’s presence.
