Arsenal provide injury update on Gabriel Jesus and Emile Smith Rowe

Arsenal will be looking to tighten their grip at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday afternoon. 

Ahead of the game, Mikel Artera has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference today and he’s provided a team news and injury update which included the latest on the fitness of Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson.

Jesus has been on the sidelines since suffering a knee ligament injury during the World Cup in early December. The Brazilian international underwent surgery and was ruled out for around three months.

We’ve seen footage this week of Jesus doing light training at London Colney and Arteta has confirmed the striker is doing ‘really well’. However, the Gunners boss refused to put a timeframe on the 25-year-old’s potential return and said they’ll have to see how he progresses over the coming weeks.

Smith Rowe has also endured an injury plagued season having missed the first half of the campaign with a groin problem. After a brief return against Oxford in the FA Cup in early January, the attacker has been on the sidelines with a thigh injury recently.

However, Arteta has confirmed that Smith Rowe is back in light training and is edging closer to making his comeback – although this weekend’s clash with Brentford will come too soon.

Closer

Arsenal’s other major injury absentee is Nelson as the winger has been out with a thigh injury since the mid-season break in December. The 23-year-old has also stepped-up his recovery on the training pitches recently but Nelson is unlikely to be available tomorrow.

Arteta is quoted as saying by Football.London:

Arteta on injury news
The ones that they were long time like Emile, Reiss and Gabi they are closer. They started to do some work outside but they are not ready to contribute yet.

Arteta on Gabriel Jesus
Gabi is doing well. It’s still early stages, he’s pushing but he’s doing really well. We need to respect some timelines and some processes, but he is doing really well. You have to see now when you put some load on that knee and put some movement and how he reacts.”

Arsenal will also be without Mohamed Elneny against Brentford as the Egyptian international is facing a race against time to play again this season after undergoing surgery on a serious knee injury.

However, it appears Jesus is edging closer to making his comeback with some reports suggesting he’ll be available for selection towards the end of this month. His return to fitness will be a major boost for Arsenal as it will give Arteta another top class option in the final third.

The Gunners head into the weekend action looking to bounce back from their defeat to Everton last time out. They still hold a five point lead over Man City so can extend their advantage to eight points with a win tomorrow.