SETTABLOID

Gabriel Jesus has emerged in the past week with one of the most miraculous returns to form that any Arsenal fan has seen. Five goals in two games that could very well have been seven were it not for the post and a good save that led to Gabriel Martinelli eventually scoring the Gunners’ fourth at Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon.

He now looks like an undisputed member of the starting eleven. After his hat-trick against Crystal Palace in the League Cup, many thought ahead of both back-to-back clashes with the south London side that were Kai Havertz fully rested in midweek, he’d come back into the centre-forward role at the weekend.

However, Arteta simply could not ignore the form of Jesus and instead Havertz went into midfield with Declan Rice having only completed one training session held back. He would later come on and score a brilliant goal from range.

This presents a conundrum for the Arsenal manager and with the added frustration of Bukayo Saka being injured for an extended period after suffering a hamstring issue, the options up top appear to have suddenly slimmed. It could therefore be that as soon as Jesus earns back his striker role, he loses it.

One reason could be is that Arteta uses Jesus himself as the right-wing replacement for Saka. It is a position he has played in many times throughout his career for both Arsenal and Manchester City.

In fact, in the 28 games he has played there, he has scored eight and assisted 10 meaning a goal contribution rate better than one-in-two. However, in the four appearances he has made there for Arsenal, he has been unable to register either a goal or an assist.

Mikel Arteta has refused to rule out dipping into the January transfer window to cope with the absence of Bukayo Saka.

The England winger suffered a torn hamstring during Saturday’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace that Arteta admitted is set to see him sidelined for a significant period.

“It’s not looking good he’s going to be out for many weeks,” he said earlier on Monday. “I cannot be too specific because I don’t know, but it will be many weeks.”

Saka’s absence on its own is significant enough. The 23-year-old has had a hand in 49% of Arsenal’s goals in the Premier League and Champions League. It has compounded by the fact Raheem Sterling is facing a lengthy spell out of his own with a knee issue sustained in training.

He’s gonna be out for weeks I believe,” the Spaniard said. “He needs further testing tomorrow to understand the extent of his injury. It’s his knee. We have to wait and see another 24 hours. Unfortunately he’s gonna be out for a while.”

With two key players out in the same position, the option of addressing the issue in the January transfer market is open to the Gunners. This is something that they are not ruling out, although Arteta has stated that the first point of call will be to look within.

Arsenal got themselves back on track in the Premier League title race on Saturday evening. The Gunners put on a five-star show at Selhurst Park to thrash Crystal Palace 5-1.

After back-to-back draws in the top flight – only matching Liverpool’s two results at the same time – Arsenal got back to winning ways with an impressive away performance.

It hauled them back to within three points of Liverpool at the top of the table, albeit only for 24 hours or so, with the Reds beating Arsenal’s fierce north London rivals Tottenham 6-3 in a crazy game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.

The gap is back to six points and the Reds have that game in hand still – away at Merseyside Derby rivals Everton after the original clash was postponed due to Storm Darragh.

But Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta knows the one thing he needs to happen if Arsenal are to have any chance of winning the Premier League. Winning all their games of course, that’s a given, but there’s something else in tune with that and it has to do with a player coming back into form.

Gabriel Jesus has scored five goals in his last two games – both against Crystal Palace – having only scored once all season prior to last Wednesday night. And if Arsenal are to win the Premier League title, they need the Brazilian to keep on scoring.

Mikel Arteta is set to face the press at London Colney ahead of his side’s Premier League clash with Ipswich Town.

The Gunners come into the festive fixture off the back of back-to-back victories over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup and Premier League.

The games have seen Gabriel Jesus have find form once again with the Brazilian netting five times in two matches – as many as he had managed in his previous 45.

For all those positives though, Arsenal find themselves sweating over the fitness of Bukayo Saka who came off at Selhurst Park on Saturday with a hamstring injury. Raheem Sterling meanwhile missed out on the game with a problem of his own.

Arsenal have been handed a fresh Nathaniel Clyne red card verdict by former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher. With just 11 minutes remaining, Riccardo Calafiori was left screaming in pain after a slide tackle from Clyne saw his studs make contact with the Arsenal man’s ankle.

Referee Simon Hooper initially gave a yellow card with VAR officials at Stockley Park in agreement which saw the Premier League release a statement. “#CRYARS – 79’ The referee issued a yellow card to Clyne for a challenge on Calafiori,” a post to X read.

“VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call, deeming that the challenge was reckless and not serious foul play.” The Gunners added a fifth soon after the Clyne controversy with Declan Rice joining Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli on the score sheet.

Despite it having minimal impact on the game, with Mikel Arteta’s side already out of sight, the reckless challenge could have resulted in another injury for Calafiori and thus the incident was discussed on Sky Sports’ Ref Watch with Gallagher explaining clearly and concisely why Clyne was not dismissed.

“I think the fact he’s come from a short distance. He doesn’t really gain any momentum or pace. I thought yellow card was a fair decision,” the ex-referee admitted.

“It’s the fact that he’s come from a short distance. If you think Estupinan comes a long way through the air out of control. This one is at a short distance so he doesn’t gain momentum and pace. I think the yellow card was a fair decision.”

The Italy international, after receiving some treatment, was able to continue on his return to action and just five minutes later assisted Rice for his first goal of the season.

Arsenal began their festive period in the best possible fashion on Saturday with a dominant victory over struggling Crystal Palace.

Gabriel Jesus continued his stellar form with a quickfire brace either side of Ismaila Sarr’s equaliser. But the Gunners did not look back after that with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice scoring to conclude the rout.

The Gunners continue to sit six points behind leaders Liverpool and will be hoping the January transfer window could provide them with an opportunity to strengthen their squad. In our latest look at the media headlines, it appears that one position is looking likely to be the priority.

Arsenal’s Kolo Muani transfer truth

The Athletic’s David Ornstein has explained that while Arsenal have previously considered PSG’s Randal Kolo Muani as a player of interest, there is no current suggestion that they will try and sign the forward in January. The 26-year-old centre-forward currently finds himself on the fringes of Luis Enrique’s team and it is expected that he will depart this winter.

However, a move to Arsenal does not appear to be on the cards at this stage with a switch to AS Monaco seen as more likely for him. Kolo Muani has scored just two goals in 14 appearances this season and has been left out of PSG’s previous two squads in Ligue 1.

Bukayo Saka is facing a potential injury setback that could significantly impact Arsenal during a crucial period of their Premier League campaign.

The 23-year-old winger sustained a hamstring injury in the Gunners’ emphatic 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday evening. Concerns have escalated as Saka, who had previously experienced issues in the same area while on international duty with England, will undergo a scan to determine the extent of the damage.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressed his concern, admitting he was ‘pretty worried’ about the situation, with further updates expected when he speaks to the media today (Monday). The severity of Saka’s injury remains uncertain, but the sight of him leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after being assisted off the pitch in the first half has only heightened worries that it could be more than just a minor strain.

Even a small tear in the hamstring could sideline Saka for up to six weeks, which would be a major blow to Arsenal’s ambitions at a critical juncture. Arsenal’s schedule is packed with important fixtures, including a match against Ipswich on December 27 and a New Year’s Day clash at Brentford.

Additionally, they are set to compete in a Carabao Cup semi-final in January, an FA Cup third-round tie with Manchester United, and two remaining Champions League matches. The team’s performance noticeably suffered during a previous absence of captain Martin Odegaard, and Saka’s contribution is vital, having notched five goals and ten assists in the Premier League this season.

Arteta has shared that Raheem Sterling was absent from the squad in the victory at Selhurst Park due to a training injury, with further assessments pending. The Arsenal boss is hopeful it’s a minor issue and that Sterling won’t be sidelined for long, potentially stepping in for Saka if needed.