Arsenal training footage triggers Gabriel Jesus theory as youngster called up
Arsenal has finished their preparations for the upcoming match against Bournemouth on Saturday, with the objective of maintaining their lead at the top of the Premier League table under the guidance of manager Mikel Arteta.
After a temporary setback last month when they lost to Everton and Manchester City and drew with Brentford in a controversial game, the Gunners seem to have overcome their struggles.
They won their last two away games against Aston Villa and Leicester City before defeating Everton 4-0 in a home game on Wednesday evening, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring two goals.
Due to their recent successes, Arsenal enters this weekend’s round of Premier League matches with a five-point lead over Manchester City, who will play against Newcastle United in the early kick-off.
Arsenal is highly expected to win their upcoming match against Bournemouth and secure their fourth consecutive win. On Friday afternoon, Arteta and his coaching staff trained the first-team squad along with some young players at London Colney, and football.london shared their observations from the footage released by the club’s official photographer.
No Eddie
During the pre-match press conference, it was disclosed that Eddie Nketiah has an ankle injury, which puts his participation in the upcoming match against Bournemouth in doubt. While the injury isn’t believed to be severe, Arteta acknowledged that he can’t guarantee that it won’t have long-term consequences.
“We are evaluating him,” Arteta told reporters. “It’s unclear what will happen with him during training. We’ll see; we’ll keep our options open. He’s remaining positive, and hopefully he’ll recover.”
Nketiah’s absence from Friday’s practice could indicate that he won’t play against Bournemouth. However, several players, such as William Saliba, Thomas Partey, and Oleksandr Zinchenko, have been absent from training but have been included in the matchday squad the following day, so anything is possible.
Jesus spotted?
Gabriel Jesus is making progress after undergoing knee surgery, and according to football.london, Arsenal is optimistic that he will return to the squad before the international break, with four games scheduled after Saturday’s match.
Arteta revealed that the Brazilian striker has yet to begin contact training. However, was Jesus present at Friday’s practice? Despite the club photographer’s efforts, one fan took to social media to speculate about a photo.
@Ghenedinho said: “I saw Gabriel Jesus pic in training with the boys today but the admin guy cropped it out.” There is certainly anticipation for when Gabriel Jesus will be able to play again, and although he won’t be available for Saturday’s match, it appears that he will return soon.
“He’s not far now. I don’t want to give a timeline, but he’s doing certain things with the team and certain things outside the team still,” Arteta admitted.
“He’s not very close, but he’s not very far. He’s feeling better every day and the doctors are feeling confident with how he’s evolving. We are in a good place with him, I think.”
What pressure?
There doesn’t seem to be any nervousness in the Arsenal team about being in the race for the Premier League title, as they all seemed to be in a calm mood before the Bournemouth game.
Bukayo Saka appeared to be delighted as he rode on Gabriel Magalhaes’ back, while January addition Jakub Kiwior had a similar experience with Granit Xhaka.
Arteta did say that recent results have changed things, and it seems his squad are relishing the task ahead. “Really important. It gives you momentum, it gives you confidence, it puts you in a much better position on the table which is the most important at the end,” he told reporters. “The team is in a really good place and looking forward to the game tomorrow.”
Youngster called up
One of the consistent elements of Arsenal’s training sessions since Arteta took over has been the involvement of young players.
Throughout this season, players such as Ethan Nwaneri, Lino Sousa, Matt Smith, Reuell Walters, Taylor Foran, and Bradley Ibrahim have been called up for training.
However, prior to the Bournemouth game, there were only a few young prospects present, with Amario Cozier-Duberry being the only one spotted. He was given the responsibility of keeping an eye on players like Thomas Partey and Jorginho.
Arsenal training footage triggers Gabriel Jesus theory as youngster called up
