Don’t you just love that late goal that snatches a draw from the jaws of victory of a title rival!

When Bruno Fernandes smashed in that brilliant goal in the first half, I had thought that Manchester United was going to steamroll past Crystal Palace, as they had been in imperious form, but the Premier League has a knack for changing the narratives time and time again. Michael Olise’s free kick was a thing of beauty and Manchester United will arrive at the Emirates with dampened spirits after such a nerve-racking draw.

Arsenal will go into that match with their eternal arch-rivals on Sunday without their alpha male in attack, Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian forward earned a place in Tite’s World Cup squad in November but played second fiddle to Brazil’s main striker, Richarlison. However, he earned a shot to feature in the Mundial when the dead-rubber fixture against Cameroon was around the corner following victories over Serbia and Switzerland. Gabriel Jesus played that game and seemed okay, only for us to learn afterwards that he had suffered a knee injury that required surgery.

For a player so instrumental to how Arsenal plays its football, losing him was a bitter blow to our chances, but Eddie Nketiah has done well to step up in Jesus’ absence and lead the line for the Gunners. Yes, he’s a bit rough around the edges, but in the grand scale of things, Nketiah has done really well, and I hope his decent form in front of goal continues.

Gabriel Jesus has gone to social media to provide an update on his knee surgery rehabilitation, revealing that he’s no longer in need of crutches. This is a major breakthrough for the Brazilian forward and we will remain hopeful that he can be available for selection around February 2023 or March 2023 as currently predicted.

With only Eddie Nketiah deputizing for Gabriel Jesus in attack, Arsenal is desperately short and one can only hope they delve into the transfer market to get a solution, whether it’s short term or long term. However, we can only hope that our forwards will go through their games unscathed in our bid to win our first Premier League title in almost 20 years.

Elsewhere, Arsenal are doing their utmost best to sort out the future of William Saliba. After signing a four year deal with the Gunners, Saliba spent the first three seasons of his Arsenal career on loan in his native France, where he groomed himself to become a colossus in defense. He finally came of age after the Olympique Marseille loan spell and his emergence in the first team saw Ben White shunted to the right back slot to accommodate him in the side.

Alongside with Gabriel, Saliba has forged a formidable telepathic partnership, and Arsenal boasts of the second best defense behind Newcastle with 14 goals conceded and nine clean sheets earned. At 21, Saliba has his best years ahead of him, and Arsenal are hoping to secure his future by initially triggering his extension clause to 2024, giving them ample time to work out a long term contract that will keep him at the Emirates for years to come.

Unfortunately, there has been a snag as Saliba’s representatives have rejected Arsenal’s proposed contract extension offer but the Gunners remain confident that they will negotiate and reach a common ground for the continuation of Saliba’s services to the club.

This has been a breakthrough season for Saliba, and he’s certainly no longer the player he was when he joined the club as the next best thing with huge potential, so it’s very understandable if he wants to earn a whole lot more than before. However, I’m pretty sure that Saliba’s reps and Arsenal will make something work.

They have all the time in the world.

Sayonara

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