Indonesia
South Africa

Aston Villavs.Arsenal

sportsmole.co.uk, 24 August 2024, 14:03
Arsenal have reportedly suffered a significant injury blow ahead of their trip to Birmingham to face Unai Emery's Aston Villa this evening.

The Gunners made a positive start to the season, kicking off the campaign with a fairly straightforward 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

Leading up to this week's fixture, Mikel Arteta's side were expected to travel without Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney due to injury, while Fabio Vieira was left out and is expected to return to Poto on a season-long loan in the coming days.

However, reports on Saturday morning have suggested that the Gunners have been hit with a late injury blow to one of their key first-team players.

Jesus ruled out for Gunners trip to Villa Park

According to insider 'Team News and Ticks' Arsenal will be without striker Gabriel Jesus for this evening's match, with the Brazilian believed to have not travelled with the squad to Villa Park.

It is understood that the Gunners' number nine has sustained a groin injury, though there is no confirmation as of yet as to how serious it may be.

The injury comes as a massive blow to the team, as well as the 27-year-old attacker, who has struggled with several injury setbacks since arriving in North London from Manchester City in 2022.

Jesus came off the bench last weekend and there were many that expected he would make the starting lineup for the clash against the Villans, who did the double over the Gunners last season.

The Brazilian featured in 27 matches for Arsenal last season and scored four goals while providing five assists.

Gunners forced to sign a striker before transfer deadline?

Following the win over Wolves last week, Arteta revealed that the club would not be pursuing a new striker this summer, as he felt that they had sufficient depth in that area of the pitch.

However, with Eddie Nketiah looking increasingly likely to depart the Emirates Stadium this summer and Jesus's fitness now in doubt, the Gunners' frontline suddenly looks quite thin.

Kai Havertz is likely to continue in the number nine role for the time being, but it will be interesting to see if Arteta and Edu still opt to go beyond the transfer deadline and into a long season ahead without signing a new centre-forward.

For the majority of the summer transfer window, Arsenal were heavily linked with a move for Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres.

The Swede has shot out the blocks and has already banged in six goals in his first three Primeira Liga games this season, including a hat-trick on Friday night against Nacional.

Top News

5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is expected to be without 17-year-old gem Ethan Nwaneri for Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg at home to Newcastle United. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bidding to make North London lightning strike twice in the space of four days, Newcastle United stop over at the Emirates on Tuesday evening to battle Arsenal in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's home Premier League contest with Manchester United is on, with the fixture between the two most successful clubs in English football going ahead as planned at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be aiming to book their spot in the final of the Spanish Super Cup when they tackle Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday night. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Josh Windass could be set to swap Sheffield Wednesday for Santos in a sensational January transfer, talkSPORT understands. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ipswich Town are reportedly on the verge of signing central defender Ben Godfrey on loan from Atalanta BC. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea reportedly remain keen to reach a financial agreement with Torino regarding the sale of Cesare Casadei. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Liverpool's Premier League clash with Manchester United is currently still set to go ahead on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the permanent transfer of Czech Republic goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a deal worth a reported £12. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk AC Milan are reportedly considering a loan move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Juventus are reportedly lining up a move for Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Premier League clash with bitter rivals Manchester United, scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Anfield, could allegedly be cancelled due to bad weather, with snow falling overnight in the Liverpool area. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The transfer window is open! Clubs around the UK and Europe have one final chance to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ourense CF vs. Valladolid (Sunday, 11.00am) La Liga's basement side Real Valladolid will be bidding to book their spot in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey when they head to third-tier outfit Ourense CF on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Kasimpasa vs. Gaziantep (Sunday, 10.30am) Kasimpasa will look to add more wins to their current unbeaten run when they host Gaziantep at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadyumu on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santa Clara vs. Farense (Sunday, 3.30pm) High-flying Santa Clara welcome relegation-threatened SC Farense in gameweek 17 of the 2024-25 Primeira Liga season on Sunday at the Estadio de Sao Miguel. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Monza vs. Cagliari (Sunday, 11.30am) After both ended 2024 with four straight Serie A defeats, relegation rivals Monza and Cagliari will vie for victory in their year-opening fixture on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Lens vs. Toulouse (Sunday, 2.00pm) Two sides in the hunt for a place in Europe next season resume their Ligue 1 campaigns on Sunday as Lens host Toulouse at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hibernian vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Rangers will aim to build on their superb 3-0 victory in the Old Firm Derby as they head to Easter Road Stadium on Sunday to face an in-form Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have agreed to recall Stefan Bajcetic from his loan at Red Bull Salzburg and send him back out in January, with Real Betis heavily linked to the midfielder. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Queens Park Rangers will look to claim a second straight victory when they welcome Luton Town to Loftus Road for Monday's Championship clash. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's pursuit of left-back Julio Soler appears to have ended in failure, with Bournemouth reportedly in advanced talks with Argentine club Lanus for his signature this winter. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly tabled an enormous £78m contract to Trent Alexander-Arnold in an attempt to stop the defender joining Real Madrid for free in the summer. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Matheus Cunha is set to sign a new long-term contract at Wolves, talkSPORT understands. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Tottenham and Newcastle kicked off a thrilling day of Premier League action, but Brentford and Bournemouth did their best to steal the headlines. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal are facing another injury scare after Ethan Nwaneri was brought off at half-time against Brighton. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Arsenal were pegged back in their quest to catch up with Premier League leaders Liverpool following a 1-1 draw at Brighton. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that he was forced to bring Ethan Nwaneri off at half time in their 1-1 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion due to injury. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could make a statement to the rest of the Premier League should they heavily beat Ruben Amorim's deflated Manchester United side, according to Reds experts David Lynch. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona eased their way into the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey on Saturday evening courtesy of a 4-0 success over fourth-tier outfit Barbastro at Estadio Municipal de Deportes de Barbastro.