Eddie Nketiah had the chance to prove himself again on Wednesday ahead of Arsenal’s 2023/2024 Premier League campaign in the Emirates Cup fixture between the Gunner and Monaco at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
This is because Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus was unavailable due to injury, which was discovered on the morning of the match on Wednesday. It casts a big doubt on the availability of the Brazilian forward ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield game against Manchester City next Sunday.
Last season Eddie Nketiah had a run for Arsenal with a total of 30 Premier League games as Gabriel Jesus was out of action for much of the season.
The English youngster managed to equalize for Arsenal in the 1-1 draw against Monaco just before halftime. Manager Mikel Arteta said Gabriel Jesus will miss a couple of weeks after a procedure was done.
“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 is 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 was to protect the player and get him back as quickly as possible. We decided to do it. It’s something related to the previous injury he had and the surgery. He had some irritation in the knee, and we had to get it resolved.” Arteta said.
Gabriel Jesus played 26 Premier League games scoring 11 goals for Arsenal last season, but he missed the FIFA World Cup campaign with the Brazilian national team in Qatar. Arsenal will play Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Sunday in the Community Shield.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu