Report: Gabriel Jesus to miss three months

Gabriel Jesus needs knee surgery and will miss three months, per reports out of Brazil. The initial word was that the Brazilian striker was facing three to four weeks on the shelf, but it would seem that the injury is more serious than first thought. There has not been word from Arsenal or any of the usual beat reporters, but there’s little reason to believe the Brazilian reports are inaccurate, either.

The change in time that Jesus will be out takes it from “Arsenal can probably manage” to “this is season-changing” for the Gunners. The summer signing has helped transform the attack, and he will be a big miss. Eddie Nketiah is a solid backup and showed down the stretch last season that he can score in the Premier League, but he ain’t Gabriel Jesus.

How will Arsenal respond with the transfer window opening on January 2nd? Does the injury change their plans? Will they look for short-term cover? Will it be an established veteran player as a stopgap or will they move forward buying young attacker that fits the mold of the recent transfer targets?

Your guess is as good as mine. If Arsenal weren’t currently leading the league, I’d suggest staying the course. But title challenges don’t come around every year, especially for a club like Arsenal in the current financial climate. As much as we think and hope Edu and Mikel Arteta are building a perennial contender, a chance this good might not come around for several more seasons. If there was anytime to deviate from the plan, this might be it.

In the coming days and as we get confirmation of Jesus’ injury, we’ll take a closer look at potential transfer targets. For right now, man this sucks. Fingers crossed for Gabby.