Gabriel Jesus will miss Arsenal’s game against Monaco in the Emirates Cup after sustaining a knee issue.
Jesus, 26, has been in excellent form during pre-season so far, but will not feature as the Gunners prepare to host the Ligue 1 side in north London. Eddie Nketiah has been given the nod up front, with Folarin Balogun also not included in the squad as he is recovering from an injury.
Gabriel Martinelli and Fabio Viera are set to start alongside Nketiah in a front-three as Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard settle for a place on the bench. Declan Rice is, however, named in the XI for his first game at the Emirates Stadium, with Emile Smith Rowe and Thomas Partey alongside him in midfield.
Arsenal fans will also get to see Jurrien Timber in action on home soil for the first time as he is at right-back. William Saliba, Jakub Kiwior and Takehiro Tomiyasu make up the Gunners back-line, with Aaron Ramsdale in net. The other new arrival, Kai Havertz, is named as a substitute.
As for Jesus, his latest setback will no doubt be a worry for Mikel Arteta – four days before the Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley. The Gunners face Pep Guardiola’s men in the season’s curtain-raiser after finishing second in the Premier League last term.
After releasing the starting XI to face Monaco, Arsenal confirmed that Jesus has a knee issue and will be assessed. Jesus missed a large chuck of last season due to a problem with his knee and he will be hoping it isn’t as serious, given he missed over three months of action.
Should he miss a sustained period of time, the Gunners could opt to keep Balogun as the United States international continues to be linked with a move away. Inter Milan and several Premier League clubs are tracking the forward’s services after he scored 22 times for Reims last term.
Jesus impressed during his first season at Arsenal following his move from Manchester City last summer, scoring 11 times in 33 appearances. Despite maybe not grabbing as many goals as he would have hoped, Jesus helped the Gunners become a better all-round side with his quality on the ball and out of possession.
The Brazilian’s latest injury blow also comes just over a week before the start of the Premier League season and six days since Arteta made a bold claim about the striker. “I don’t know [if we have enough goalscorers],” Arteta said, as quoted by football.london after their 5-3 win over Barcelona.
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“We need to score as many goals as possible and if we have someone who scores 25, 30, 40 goals [then] great. Gabi, today, didn’t score but it’s the best Gabi I have seen for months. Transmitting that energy, that belief. He was creating a lot of chaos, a lot of good moments and making everyone better.
“I’m really pleased with that and the contribution of Kai. He has that quality and that’s why he’s playing that position with Leo. We have a lot of options up front and they are going to have to compete between them to give me a hard time.”
