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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jacob Leeks

Five things noticed from Arsenal training as Gabriel Jesus FINALLY returns

Arsenal continued their preparations to face Everton with a training session on Tuesday, one which saw the long-awaited return of star striker Gabriel Jesus.

Jesus has been ruled out since the World Cup after suffering an injury while on Brazil duty, with Eddie Nketiah stepping up. But now, the summer signing has returned to training with the full squad, though he is unlikely to be fit enough to feature against the Toffees.

The visit of Sean Dyche's men will be a tough challenge for the Gunners, who have the chance to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League table. Here, Mirror Football takes a closer look at Arsenal's final training session before facing Everton.

Jesus back in action

The big news from Arsenal's training session is that Gabriel Jesus has returned to the squad. It has been a difficult few months with the Brazilian on the sidelines, though Eddie Nketiah has stepped up admirably.

It now appears that Jesus could be closing in on a full return to the pitch, though the clash with Everton is likely to come too soon for him. Jesus was all smiles as he took part in the session.

The striker was seen running, a major milestone in his path to full recovery, as well as controlling a ball. Arteta will certainly be pleased to see his star striker making such good progress.

HAVE YOUR SAY! What should be Arsenal's starting line-up against Everton? Comment below.

Zinchenko's high demands

Oleksandr Zinchenko appeared to make his frustration clear (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

One of the images of the recent win over Aston Villa was Oleksandr Zinchenko urging his team-mates to stop celebrating his equaliser and rush back to score a winner instead.

Those high standards appeared to be on show once again on Tuesday as the Gunners prepared to face Everton. The Ukrainian was seen shouting at his team-mates in apparent frustration.

With his arms out to his side and a look of annoyance on his face, Zinchenko may have been cajoling them during an exercise. With the season entering its final stretch, Arteta will be counting on Zinchenko to help keep standards high.

Battle of the giants

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta put his players up against eah other in a series of defence versus attack drills. Jorginho faced Fabio Vieira and skipper Martin Odegaard took on Kieran Tierney.

But arguably the most intriguing was Ben White going up against Rob Holding, with the duo now the back-up centre-backs to William Saliba and Gabriel. White of course is also impressing at right-back, with Holding limited to a role on the bench.

The drill appeared to involve a ball coming in the air from deep, with Holding looking up towards it. White meanwhile had his arm outstretched in what looked to be a more defensive action.

Kiwior steps up return

Boss Mikel Arteta has been pleased to see his squad gain more options (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

While the highlight of Tuesday's session was seeing Jesus return to the pitch, there was also positive news involving Jakub Kiwior. The defender arrived in the January transfer window, but has failed to feature in a senior game.

He made his first Gunners appearance in a Premier League 2 defeat to Chelsea for the Under-21s on Monday. Continuing his hectic week, he was back in the following morning for first-team training, with Arteta delighted he came through his first game unscathed.

"They were really good, obviously they needed some minutes and at the moment they haven’t had much exposure, for different situations. It was great to see them on the field because we are going to need them in the next couple of games," he said of Kiwior and Emile Smith Rowe.

Saliba all smiles

William Saliba was all smiles at training on Tuesday (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

There had been some concerns that William Saliba clashed with centre-back partner Gabriel during Saturday's win over Leicester. But worries about potential trouble in the Arsenal camp appear to have been put to bed by Tuesday's session.

Saliba was all smiles during the training session as he laughed and joked with his team-mates. At one point, he was also seen celebrating by raising his arms to the sky and looking upwards.

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