For the first time in weeks, this blog will not open with World Cup news. Well, not specifically World Cup news, but it does involve an Arsenal player in the tournament.
No doubt most of you have already seen the stories; Gabriel Jesus’ knee injury is reported to be worse than first feared, may require surgery and could sideline him for three months. This is, it is fair to say, very bad news.
The Brazilian has been so fundamental to the team this season, so transformative, that his absence will hurt us. We don’t have a lot of depth at center forward, and there is, in my opinion anyway, a big difference between Jesús and his substitute, Eddie Nketiah. Which is not to say that Eddie can’t do a job, I think he can to a degree. He showed last season that he can score goals in the Premier League, but the difference between the two players is substantial.
I don’t think it’s a criticism of Eddie, by the way, and I hope he can do a great job when he comes in, but it’s just reality. Jesus is older, he has more experience and although Nketiah’s all-round game has improved, I don’t think he can give the team what the former Manchester City player can. Some may see the lack of goals in the Brazilian’s game and question his influence, but it only takes eyes to see how much he brings to the team.
I think this means that Arsenal have to look for a striker in the January window. Not only because we need more firepower, but with only one recognized center forward until the end of February (potentially), we can’t expect Eddie to play every minute of every game. To be fair, a decent case could be made for Gabriel Martinelli as a centre-forward option, but he often talks about how his preferred position is on the left. Not to mention, that would leave us light on that side of the field.
It’s a huge headache for Mikel Arteta and Edu, and while they surely have a plan in place for how they want to grow the squad, circumstances can dictate what you need to do, regardless of how good that plan is. Just go back to the end of the last window when we were clearly looking for a winger, then injuries to Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny meant we had to pivot to try and find a central midfielder. I would say that right now, perhaps in the beginning stages of considering life without Gabriel Jesus for three months, our need for a striker in January is much greater than our need for a central midfielder at the end of August.
So cross your fingers that Jesus can recover faster, but also that the club can do the business required to ensure we don’t suffer from his absence as much as we would otherwise. We are still in a great position and we have to make sure we keep going until the third month, when Jesus rises.
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In the World Cup, there was really no drama yesterday. The Netherlands and Argentina looked like favorites on paper, and on the pitch that proved to be the case. I don’t know if it was just a little tired, but the US showed a defensive sloppiness that wasn’t there in their first three games. Still, I thought Matt Turner played great, one double save in particular was really great. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi ran the show as Argentina beat Australia 2-1, a score closer than the game.
Today, France faces Poland, and the Poles will need to be much better than they were in their last game to have a chance. Later, it’s England v Senegal, and I’ve seen some reports that Bukayo Saka is ready to go. I think this could be really interesting, certainly not a success for England.
Well, I’ll leave it there for this morning. Maybe put on a soundtrack of sad songs to deal with Jesus’ wound. However, you may want to listen to a new Arsecast Extra, recorded yesterday when we understood that the injury was a 3-4 week situation. Happier, more innocent times.
All the links you need are below. Have a good.
