Jesus was absent from Arsenal’s penalty shootout win over Monaco at the Emirates Cup last night (August 2), after coach Mikel Arteta admitted the Brazilian striker’s injury was a “huge shock”. during the Gunners’ preparations for the new season.
“Unfortunately, Jesus has a little bit of pain in his knee and needs treatment. It’s not a serious problem but I think he needs a few weeks to recover. It was a big shock for Arsenal because Jesus was back at his best, especially the way he played against Barca.
The best thing is to protect the player and try to get Jesus back as quickly as possible. His injury this time is related to the trauma as well as the previous surgery. Jesus has swelling in his knee so we need to solve this problem,” the Spaniard shared.
Jesus joined Arsenal from Man City last summer. He has enjoyed an impressive first season at the Gunners, scoring 11 goals in 26 Premier League appearances. However, a knee injury while with Brazil at the 2022 World Cup has kept him out for a long time, missing most of the stage two seasons ago.
In addition, Arteta also confirmed that Bukayo Saka was not used in the win over Monaco due to illness, and hoped that Oleksandr Zinchenko would return soon from a calf injury.
“Saka is fine but doesn’t feel well so he’s on the bench. I think he’s sick so we don’t play. As for Zinchenko, he’s coming back soon. I think he’ll start training with the team soon. and hopefully we’ll get him back soon.”
On August 6, Arsenal will play the Super Cup match against Man City at Wembley Stadium. A week later, they will start the 2023/24 Premier League with a match against Nottingham Forest.