Since his mesmerizing performance for Arsenal in the 2-1 win over Sevilla in the Champions League last month, Gabriel Jesus has been on the sidelines, missing five games for Arsenal before this international break. While Arsenal had hoped that Gabriel Jesus would use the interlull to get some well deserved rest ahead of the clash with Brentford, Brazil called him up and declared that their own medical staff would assess the forward, which didn’t go well with Arsenal.
Brazil head coach, Fernando Diniz, touched on it in a recent press conference,
“I talked to Gabriel, and he didn’t come here without planning. He said he is feeling good. We thought it was an interesting risk to bring him here, he is good condition, and we are doing things with great care.
“As soon as he arrived, he had a new MRI scan. We are treating him very carefully, and if he’s in good condition, he can face Argentina.
“If not, I’m sure it was still very important for him to come here, and he’ll return to Arsenal in better shape than when he got here.”
First off, I’m happy that Jesus will, hopefully, not be considered for the match against Colombia this weekend, with the crunch clash against Argentina next week as the targeted fixture, and I’m guessing that he would be building up his fitness to get himself ready for such an important encounter, especially with leading forward, Richarlison, not available after his groin surgery.
Having Jesus play against Argentina will surely put him in contention for the clash with Brentford, but knowing Mikel Arteta, he’d rather tread on the side of caution and leave him on the sidelines till he’s fully fit. In his absence, Eddie Nketiah and Leandro Trossard have done their bits to deputize him well, with Nketiah stealing the show against Sheffield United, while Trossard opening the scoring against Sevilla and most recently, Burnley.
With Brazil also taking a cautious approach on handling Gabriel Jesus, I feel that there’s a common ground between the nation and Arsenal, who will be monitoring their striker’s progress with a keen eye.
Sayonara.
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