Mikel Arteta has confirmed thatGabriel Jesus will miss the start of the season as the Arsenal forward recovers from aknee ιɴjυɾу.
The Brazilian forward missed Arsenal’s latest pre-season friєɴԀly against Monaco and is now set to miss their season opener.
Arteta’s side will take on Manchester City in theCommunity Shield finalbefore starting their Premier League campaign against Nottingham Forest.
Jesus scored 11 league goals last season and provided six assists. While Arsenal do have players that can fill in for the Brazilian, losing him at this early stage is a blow.
“Unfortunately he had a little procedure this morning. 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,” Arteta explained viaFootball London.
“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.
“It’s something related to the previous ιɴjυɾу he had and the surgery. He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved.”
The Gunners do have the likes ofEddie Nketiah,Kai Havertz andLeandro Trossard to rely upon in the number nine role.
Folarin Balogun is another option for Arteta, but the Spanish boss has insisted that ρłɑɴs regarding the forward haven’t changed.
“The ρłɑɴs with Flo don’t change at all but unfortunately with Gabby we’re not going to have him,” Arteta added. “We have other options to play with different qualities of players and we will adapt.
Balogun has been linked with a move away from Arsenal this summer, but the club are yet to receive a suitable offer.
The 22-year-old scored 21 league goals forReims last season and has attracted interest from around Europe.
Inter Milan, AC Milan and West Ham have all been linked with the forward, but no club has yet offered the£45m Arsenal are looking for.
