Gabriel Jesus issues new Arsenal injury update as Mikel Arteta provides transfer update

Mikel Arteta has spoken on whether Gabriel Jesus has a future at Arsenal after the Brazilian forward returned to training this week.

Jesus suffered a cruciate ligament injury during an FA Cup clash with Manchester United in January this year. Since then, the 28-year-old has not featured for the Gunners.

The Brazilian international is now just two months away from having missed a full year of football. However, his recovery appears to be on track, with Jesus returning to first-team training this week.

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The striker showed his gratitude in an Instagram post that included a photo of him smiling during a session. The caption read: “Getting used to it again. So happy. God is great.”

Ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Sunderland this evening, Arteta was asked how long it would be until Jesus returns to the pitch.

"I don't know, now it's about making the steps day by day in a different surrounding," the Gunners' boss said. "Obviously, he's been doing everything on his own; now he's got players around him, very competitive players around him, and see how he copes with that.

"But he's full of energy, I love the reaction of all his teammates when he first joined us and yeah, great to have him back."

Having signed Viktor Gyokeres in the summer, Arteta now boasts a stacked line-up of strikers, with Kai Havertz, Jesus, and rotation option Mikel Merino all competing for minutes.

Competition can sometimes create frustration among players, but Arteta was quick to back Jesus' place in the squad.

He said: "Yes, because we haven’t had [our forwards] and now we don’t have Viktor and we haven’t had Kai again for three months or many other forwards.

"Unfortunately, that’s becoming something that consistently happens, so we need those options and what an option to have with Gabi."

On what Jesus brings to the team, Arteta added: "A player who is very unpredictable, full of energy, and super competitive. A player who comes from a context of difficulty in the last few seasons, due to various nasty injuries, so the level of hunger and desire that he is going to bring to the team is going to be amazing.

"So I’m thrilled to have him, I think he’s going to add something extra to the team that we don’t have, and make sure that very soon we see him on that pitch making an impact for the team."

A potential return date for Jesus could be mid-December. Before then, Arteta will look to extend Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League with a win away at Sunderland.