It has been all doom and gloom for everything connected with Arsenal following the back-to-back Premier League losses and the unfortunate FA Cup loss to Liverpool. Since then, the lads have departed to Dubai for some warm weather training and in all honesty, this reset was needed and Arsenal will be expected to come back strong, with all guns blazing against Crystal Palace this weekend.
One major challenge Arsenal has had this season has been the incessant injuries, and as expected, they have hampered and ravaged the first team squad badly. Gabriel Jesus is no stranger to injuries since his big-money arrival from Manchester City in the last campaign. He suffered a long-term injury while on international duty with Brazil in the FIFA World Cup that kept him out for five months.
At the start of the new campaign, Jesus had a niggling knee issue that required a procedure and it kept him out for the early part of the season. Jesus suffered a hamstring injury against Sevilla in the Champions League that kept him out for a couple of games, and out of the blue, Jesus was unavailable for the Liverpool FA Cup game. However, Gabriel Jesus was seen in recent training videos, which is very encouraging, as we need him against Crystal Palace.
Fabio Vieira has been on the periphery this season, but found his moment in the Sun with a virtuoso performance in the 2-2 draw with Fulham. However, Vieira had a groin issue that required surgery to mitigate, and he went under the knife, ruling him out for the latter part of 2023. He’s expected sometime in February 2024 and with the games coming thick and fast, Vieira will be needed for selection to offer a different dynamism in attacking midfield.
Thomas Partey’s fitness has been a major concern this season, and sadly, Arsenal fans haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Partey play alongside Declan Rice in the heart of the midfield. His muscular injury was bad enough for him to miss the African Cup of Nations with Ghana, and the current projections is that Partey would be available for selection next month.
Finally, long-term absentee, Jurrien Timber, made a significant step with his rehabilitation, as he’s out on the grass and training with the ball. He is still a long way to go in terms of team selection, with the current projections for Timber likely scheduled for March 2024. Prior to his injury, Timber was on fire, playing the Oleksandr Zinchenko inverted midfield role with such pizzazz, so it was a real shame seeing him suffer such a big injury when he was trying to find his fit in his new surroundings.
To international duty, Arsenal had Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu depart with their respective nations for the winter tournaments that commenced last weekend. Tomiyasu was an unused substitute in Japan’s 4-2 win over Vietnam, as ex-Liverpool attacker, Takumi Minamino, scoring a brace in the match. Tomiyasu has had his own injury concerns, and his fitness will be monitored.
Elneny played 78 minutes for Egypt in their shock 2-2 draw with Mozambique. Egypt were expected to send Mozambique to the cleaners but the Southern African nation rode their luck with Egypt having 21 shots, but it took a very late penalty from Mo Salah to save the Pharaohs from embarrassment.
Sayonara.
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