Arsenal handed Gabriel Jesus and Ben White boost as Premier League gives Mikel Arteta lift
It's been a difficult festive period for Arsenal. The Gunners went into Christmas at the top of the Premier League, but with back-to-back losses against West Ham and Fulham, they have conspired to be fourth by the start of the new year.
The two defeats — although very different in nature — have shone a real spotlight on Arsenal's struggles up front. Defensively the Gunners have been excellent this season, and only Liverpool have conceded fewer goals. Offensively though they have been lacking, and rank seventh in the Premier League for goals scored.
Gabriel Jesus is someone who has bore the brunt of this frustration, particularly after missing a set of good chances against West Ham. He was subsequently dropped to the bench against Fulham, but failed to make much of an impact as a substitute.
Still though, Arteta will be glad that he has the Brazilian available for selection as it could have been very different. Jesus picked up his fourth yellow card of the season in the dying stages of the 2-0 defeat to West Ham. This would have left him vulnerable to a suspension had he picked up another booking.
However, FA rules state that any player who accumulates five bookings in the Premier League before the cut-off point of 19 matches will have to serve an automatic one-match ban and the fact that 'yellow cards are not carried over to the EFL Cup or FA Cup'. Given that West Ham was Arsenal's 19th game of the season, Jesus will now need to pick up 10 yellows in order to face a suspension, so is not in any immediate danger.
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