Arsenal’s January transfer plans may be forced to undergo drastic changes following Gabriel Jesus’ injury in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
As well as a number of chances against United, the Gunners’ trouble in the final third regressed further with Jesus being forced off in the first-half. The Brazilian appeared to injure his knee, on two occasions, before being replaced by Raheem Sterling.
Mikel Arteta confirmed after the penalty shoot-out defeat that Jesus was in serious pain and admitted it wasn’t looking good. Despite it not being the same knee as his previous injury in 2022, there has been claimed by injury experts it could be an ACL injury.
The aftermath of the cup defeat has seen pressure fall on Arsenal on dipping into the transfer market. Arteta now has four first-team attackers available for selection meaning the need for reinforcements has grown.
A number of forwards have been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium. Centre-forwards Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres have been long-term targets while versatile wide attackers like Nico Williams and Ademola Lookman have all been mentioned.
Whichever target Arsenal decide to push with, they will cost a premium. However, some of them have release clauses that are there to be triggered. Athletic Bilbao superstar Williams has a release clause of around €60million (£50.4m) – a price that isn’t too high for a player of his quality.
