Gabriel Jesus missed Arsenal’s match against Liverpool at the weekend through injury, with Mikel Arteta providing an update after the game.
Ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool on Sunday, fans spotted that Gabriel Jesus was absent from pre-match training photos, and reports started to circulate that the striker was a doubt for the fixture.
David Ornstein of The Athletic then confirmed that Jesus was out of the tie with a “small knee injury”.
Ornstein wrote that the Brazilian had suffered a knock, but the damage was believed to be minor and not a serious cause for concern.
In the build-up to the game, Arsenal confirmed that Jesus had missed out on the matchday squad with a “minor knee issue”.
Speaking afterwards, Mikel Arteta discussed the problem with the media.
“He had some pain in his knee, so we did a scan and it showed something,” Arteta said.
“Hopefully it is not something big, it’s the same knee that he had [previously injured] so we cannot take any risks. Hopefully not [a big injury].”
Arsenal are now set to spend some time in Dubai over their winter break for a warm-weather training camp.
On whether Jesus would be involved in that trip, Arteta just said: “I think so.”
All reports suggest this isn’t a major problem, and Arsenal only have one game in the next three full weeks, giving plenty of time for the striker’s recovery.
But the main concern will be the fact this is the same knee Jesus has previously had issues with.
Jesus’ previous knee injuries have kept him out for months at a time, requiring surgery in December 2022 and again in August 2023.
Another operation would surely be bad news for hopes of Jesus featuring in Arsenal’s remaining January fixtures. There are no signs he’ll have to undergo such a procedure yet.