Premier League giants, Arsenal, have been doing pretty well in this campaign like their previous two campaigns. The Gunners came close to winning the title twice in two years, only to fall short at the very end. All this progress shows the process Mikel Arteta is working on is actually worth. However, former Arsenal legend, Gilberto Silva, has poised Arteta to make a change in team. The Brazilian was a huge figure in the 2003/04 “Invincibles” season of the Gunners. He, alongside Patrick Vieira, was no less than a wall for the opposition attacks.
The ex-Gooner believes that Gabriel Jesus will be a better fit up top than Kai Havertz. The North Londoners secured a move for Jesus from Manchester City three seasons ago. Since then, his injury record has been on a high causing his game time to be minimum in the outfit. Moreover, his last goal for the club came in January against Nottingham Forest. Since then, he has been unable to maintain his fitness and is currently on sidelines as well.
Can Arsenal benefit from the team up with Jesus?
Kai Havertz joined the club from their city rivals Chelsea. Even though a bad start of life at Emirates, Havertz has emerged as one of the first names on Arteta’s team sheet playing as a central striker for the north London club. As a matter of fact, the German marksman scored against Southampton before the international break, which was his seventh consecutive goal in a home match. If he somehow manages to score against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League fixture, he will equalise the tally with Thierry Henry of scoring most goals consecutively on home turf.
Contrary to this, the Brazilian forward has been able to make only three appearances so far this season. He is currently injured and still not fit to start for the club. Even after this, Silva, speaking on bettingexpert, believes that Jesus can be the no.1 choice for Arteta as a striker when fit. He said,
“Jesus has suffered a lot with injuries and that really gets in the way. It also opened up space for Havertz, who played in positions where Jesus would have played. He ended up doing well there. However, as a nine, Jesus has the potential to do more if he’s healthy. But Havertz came in so well that many people didn’t even think about his absences.”
Arsenal latest squad update
The international break has not been a great one for fans at The Emirates Stadium. Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz all picked a knock on national duty. It is unclear who will be available for team selection on this weekend against Bournemouth. Though, Jesus is reportedly back in training after treatment and can be available for the game.
Albeit his present is a good sign for Arteta, the management will not take a chance given the Brazilian’s injury record. It has been rumoured that the Gunners can offload him soon as they have a replacement for him in Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres. The striker has a release clause of £84 million which Arsenal can trigger if they want. If by any chance the deal for Gyokeres is made, it will be The End for Jesus at North London surely. He could well feature in seven games for the Gunners before the next international break and how he performs in those could go a long way to deciding his future at The Emirates.
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