Gabriel Jesus out of Arsenal's FA Cup clash with Liverpool as new knee injury emerges
Gabriel Jesus will miss Arsenal's FA Cup clash with Liverpool this afternoon due to a minor knee injury. The Brazil international has already suffered two separate muscular issues this season in addition to his three-month absence from the 2022/23 season when he had surgery on a damaged knee ligament.
The Brazil international was surprisingly named on the bench for last weekend's clash against Fulham with Eddie Nketiah replacing him in the starting XI. Jesus came on for the final 23 minutes but was unable to significantly impact the game as the Gunners lost their second consecutive game after being defeated by West Ham at Emirates Stadium earlier in the week.
Jesus was not spotted in training for the clash with Liverpool and football.london understands he is out of the squad for the clash with what is a small knee injury that is not expected to be serious. Nketiah, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz are potential alternatives for Arteta to consider.
With Jesus missing out through injury he will join an ever-growing list of senior stars, headed up by Jurrien Timber, Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu in being unavailable. Both Timber and Partey are long-term absentees while Tomiyasu is away with Japan at the Asia Cup and will therefore miss the next couple of weeks.
Ben White and Bukayo Saka are also slight doubts given they have both been playing through knee and Achilles issues, respectively. Oleksandr Zinchenko is another who could miss out although Arteta will be hoping the seven days between facing Liverpool and his absence against Fulham were long enough for him to recover from a calf problem.
Jesus is a very important player for Arteta and his absence will mean a tactical re-think is required as well as a possible
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