GABRIEL JESUS has been spotted in Arsenal training in a major boost ahead of the club’s clashes with Fulham and Manchester United.
The striker has missed Arsenal’s opening games after suffering a knee injury in pre-season.
The forward underwent minor surgery to remove “debris” in his knee ahead of the campaign.
Manager Mikel Arteta did not put a strict time frame on Jesus’ return but his return to the team has likely come earlier than expected and will be a huge boost ahead of the international break.
Eddie Nketiah has done well in his absence, registering a goal and an assist.
The striker was seen training as part of the main group on social media, with the team engaging in some warm-up runs.
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The training video did not show any work the players did with the football, so it remains to be seen as to whether Jesus will take part in full training with the squad.
So whether Arteta opts to throw Jesus straight back into the starting XI against Fulham on Saturday remains to be seen.
Arsenal fans on Twitter were delighted to see their number nine involved with the squad again, with one tweeting: “The league is not ready.”
Another wrote: “What a miracle!”
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A third posted: “Banger of a player….we are winning the league.”
While a fourth wrote “Magic back at the Emirates,” alongside a wand and wizard hat emoji.
Jesus was a key part of Arsenal’s title challenge last season, registering 11 goals and seven assists in 26 league games.
An injury towards the end of the campaign saw the striker drop out of the team and Nketiah deputise as he has done this season.
Jesus’ injury however did coincide with Arsenal’s loss of form which ultimately saw them miss out on the title to Manchester City.
Arteta has been impressed with Nketiah so far this season after dropping him for the Community Shield final.
He said after Nketiah scored in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest: “He was a player who was so disappointed not to play the final in the absence of Gabi.
“What he did was he came on the field in the final and changed the game. That’s number one. The second one was the way he was training this week was saying ‘gaffer, if you’re not playing me you are blind’.
“A lot of players come and say ‘oh why am I not playing’ and you have to try to explain, other players come and say ‘these are the reasons why I deserve to play’. This is exactly what Eddie does.”
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Nketiah then won the penalty which Martin Odegaard converted to claim all three points against Palace in a 1-0 victory on Monday evening.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
