Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus has revealed that he is back on his feet following knee surgery in a social media post.
The Brazilian, 25, has excelled since moving to the Emirates in a £45million deal from Manchester City in the summer, contributing five goals and six assists prior to the mid-season break. However, Jesus is now set for an extended spell on the sidelines after sustaining an injury at the World Cup.
Jesus is expected to miss up to three months of action after undergoing surgery, leaving Mikel Arteta light on attacking options ahead of the second half of the Premier League season. While speculation over whether or not Arsenal will seek reinforcements in January ramps up, Jesus has taken to Twitter to update fans on his progress.
Jesus shared an image of himself walking with crutches and a knee brace with the caption "progressing". The image has received a flurry of support from Gunners fans, who are desperate for their No.9 to return sooner rather than later.
In Jesus' absence, Eddie Nketiah is set to be handed the opportunity to keep Arsenal's unlikely title dream alive. The Gunners, who have lost just one league game so far this term, headed into the World Cup with a five point advantage over Manchester City.
The Gunners academy graduate impressed in the final few months of the season to earn a new contract, however, there are doubts over whether Nketiah alone would be sufficient to sustain Arsenal's title challenge.
Former Liverpool and England midfielder Jamie Redknapp warned Arteta that the club's seasons could unravel if the Londoners fail to sign an adequate replacement for Jesus in January.
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Arteta has already alluded to the fact that the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith-Rowe, who is close to a return to action, are also capable of filling in as a No.9.
But the Spaniard did appeared to drop the biggest hint yet that Arsenal are willing to splash the cash on another striker after he admitted that the club needs to strengthen in every transfer window, if possible.
Speaking ahead of the Boxing Day clash against West Ham, Arteta said: “We will be in the market always active and we will assess the biggest opportunities that we have. We are going to be active and being active means we are always going to be looking to strengthen the team.
“This squad doesn’t have the luxury of not maximising every single window and we have to do that because it’s really important. But then we want to get the right profile and the right player and a player that is going to impact the team and take us to the next level.”
