Arsenal: Potential Arteta blow as Brazil boss is ready to ‘risk’ attacker – ‘we’re treating him carefully’
Interim Brazil head coach Fernando Diniz has provided an update on Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.
The Gunners paid around £45m to sign Jesus from Premier League rivals Manchester City ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Jesus has been heavily impacted by injuries over the past 18 months. He grabbed 11 goals and six assists in the Premier League last term but he was limited to just 26 appearances.
The forward was absent during the early weeks of this campaign with a knee injury and he has now picked up a hamstring injury. He missed Arsenal’s final three Premier League games before the international break but he was still included in Brazil’s squad for their upcoming internationals against Colombia and Argentina.
Diniz provided an update on Jesus during his recent press conference. He described their decision to call up the striker as an “interesting risk” but he could be “available” to face Argentina next Wednesday.
“I trust the player and him being here. I talked to Gabriel and he didn’t come here without planning. He said he is feeling good and was already doing things ten days before the first game and 15 days before the second game,” Diniz told reporters.
“We thought it was an interesting risk to bring him here. He is in good condition. We are doing things with great care. As soon as he arrived, we gave him a new MRI scan. We are treating him very carefully.
“If he is in the right condition, he will be available against Argentina. If not, I’m sure it was very important for Gabriel to come here.”
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Back in September, Mikel Arteta discussed Jesus’ injury issues as he picked up his hamstring issue just as he “started to get his rhythm”.
“If you look at the last six or seven months for Gabi, with the long-term injury he had and the amount of football that he missed, then he came back in pre-season and he started to get his rhythm again — and then he had another injury, another surgery,” Arteta said.
“So we have to build him up. He is a tremendous player, a really important player for us. He changed our world last season. You could all see that. He is going to be a really important player for us.
“I think he brought a different energy, a different belief, a different threat, a different fear to opponents. And he did it in a really natural way. He contributed hugely to the step that we had last season.”
