Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided a fresh update on Thomas Partey and Gabriel Jesus ahead of the Premier League clash against Leicester City this weekend. The Gunners head into the fixture at the top of the table, leading Manchester City by two points.
Arteta has not been able to select Partey for the last two fixtures against City and Aston Villa due to the midfielder suffering a muscle injury earlier last week. Jesus has not played for Arsenal since the Premier League resumed following the World Cup after sustaining a knee injury whilst away with Brazil in Qatar.
Eddie Nketiah has proved to be a capable replacement in the team for the Brazilian striker who is set to return in March. January signing Jorginho has filled the void left by Partey's absence, but the Ghanaian midfielder's return would be a welcome boost for Arteta as Arsenal prepare for a difficult test against Leicester this weekend.
READ MORE: Arsenal press conference LIVE: Mikel Arteta on Thomas Partey's fitness, Leicester trip and Jesus
Speaking in his pre-Leicester press conference on Friday morning, Arteta provided an update on the fitness of both Partey and Jesus. The Gunners manager said: "Not a lot of changes [regarding injuries in the squad].
"The question mark on Thomas [Partey], he hasn’t trained much but looks like he could be available. Let’s see how he goes today, we’ve missed him in the past few games and hopefully he’ll be back."
The Gunners boss then offered yet another update on Gabriel Jesus' recovery. "He’s progressing well," Arteta said.
"Doing more and more on the field, the knee is not reacting - so it’s positive. We want him back quickly but respect the timeline from the doctors."
Jesus has offered plenty of his own updates on social media regarding his rehabilitation process after he returned to training on the grass this month. The Brazilian striker has been a huge hit at the Emirates Stadium since completing a £45million move from City in the summer transfer window.
Jesus' return will be a huge boost not only for Arsenal's Premier League title ambitions, but for their ability to rotate ahead of the return of Europa League action in a couple of weeks time with the Gunners set to find out their round of 16 fate today.
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