Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to make a 13 minute cameo in the 3-0 win over Fulham yesterday, and it marked his first action since November 5.
Jesus, who suffered a serious knee injury while playing with Brazil in the 2022 World Cup, is expected to play a bigger role on Thursday night against Sporting Lisbon.
Arsenal vs Sporting Lisbon FYIs
Kick: Thurs March 16, 8pm, The Emirates Stadium, London, UK
Competition: Europa League Round of 16, Leg 2/2, Tie is even 2-2
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Arsenal Starting XI Prediction: go here
Stat Pack: Arsenal are undefeated in seven previous UEL clashes with Portugese sides
While Jesus is very much needed here, and manager Mikel Arteta is glad to have him back, the boss made it clear that a starting sport isn’t promised to him by any means.
“[It is a] big boost [to have him back],” Arteta said.
“The first step today. We didn’t know if it was the right game today. He said to me a few days ago ‘I’m still missing something.’ Yesterday I looked in his eyes and he said ‘I’m ready.’ I said ‘OK.’
“So then we had the opportunity to throw him in. It’s that first step to give him the big boost. He looks free, he looks ready and straight away he generated those two big chances. It’s great to have him back.”
“[But] he has to earn his place like in any other team. We have alternatives who can play in different positions and we have different goals as well to fill in relation to the chemistry of the players and what we ask them to do.
“It’s a great problem to have, believe me.
“We try to adapt to the quality of players that we have, to put them in their strengths and position where we want as much as possible. Leo [Leandro Trossard] has very different qualities to Gabi, Martin [Odegaard] complements him really well in terms of the space and understanding with him. It’s great to have that versatility.”
With Eddie Nketiah missing out for the weekend London derby, he’s not expected to be available for the continental competition in midweek.
So Arsenal is short on depth at the center forward position right now. And with the tie all square at 2, they need goals, badly, in the home leg.
There are no new injury concerns for the squad, heading into this clash. I guess we’ll see if Gabriel Jesus can step up and be the hero here, after just coming back from a long injury layoff.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.
