Oleksandr Zinchenko fears Gabriel Jesus will be a ‘BIG MISS’ for Arsenal when their Premier League title challenge resumes with the striker facing up to three months out through injury… as he backs the Brazilian ‘warrior’ to come back stronger
Oleksandr Zinchenko claims Gabriel Jesus’ absence through injury will be a ‘big miss’ for the Gunners once they return to domestic action later this month.
Zinchenko, who joined Arsenal from Manchester City alongside Jesus in the summer, believes the striker will be back ‘much, much stronger’ after the injury curtailed his World Cup campaign with Brazil, but he will be missed in the interim.
Both players have had an instant impact since arriving in north London, although Zinchenko is also out injured currently but was quick to assure fans he is close to match-fit.
Oleksandr Zinchenko believes Gabriel Jesus will be a ‘big miss’ for the Gunners in their title bid
‘I said already that we are all behind him, we are all supporting him,’ the Ukrainian left-back told Sky Sports.
‘Of course it’s a big miss for our team, and the impact what he’s doing for the club is amazing.
‘I know him for a while – he’s a big warrior and I’m 100% sure that he’ll be back much, much stronger.’
After a blistering start to life in north London, Jesus has gone through something of a lean patch in front of goal, with no goals in his last six Premier League appearances.
Both the Ukrainian and the Brazilian arrived in north London from Manchester City in summer
Jesus has five goals and seven assists in 10 appearances in all competitions for the Gunners
However, he has still proven a potent threat up front, and his work-rate and link-up play have seen him keep his place in the side a he proves a key facet to Mikel Arteta’s title-challenging team.
Jesus posed with crutches in a photo on Instagram after his successful knee surgery ahead of lengthy stay on the sidelines
In total, the Brazilian has five goals and seven assists to his name in 20 games for the Gunners in all competitions since his summer arrival.
But as impactful as Jesus has been in attack, Zinchenko has performed well to keep regular left-back Kieran Tierney out of the team, who has been one of Arsenal’s most consistent performers in recent seasons at the Emirates.
However, he has struggled with injuries in his first months at the Gunners, and as such has only made 11 appearances and contributed one assist, although he provides tactical fluidity to Arteta’s side when fit.
The Ukrainian is in Dubai with the Arsenal squad as part of their Dubai Super Cup participation, although he did not come off the bench against Lyon in their 3-0 win last week.
‘You know, I have a little muscle tightness, but I’m nearly there, so don’t worry about this, obviously I’m also working hard to get my fitness back and to be with the team as quickly as I can,’ he told Sky.
Zinchenko is himself out with injury but told fans he is ‘nearly there’ in his bid for full fitness
‘It’s the worst feeling to be fair… for every footballer to be out of the team. And yeah, in the last couple of months, I was struggling a lot but I hope everything is in the past already.
‘And now, I’m fully focused and so excited for the rest of the season.’
Arsenal have been linked with a number of forwards ahead of the January transfer window, namely Joao Felix, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Ferran Torres to bolster their ranks.
Advertisement