Mikel Arteta, the manager of Arsenal, will be hoping that two important players come back from international duty without any injuries.
Many members of Arsenal’s first team squad have left for international duty. Mikel Arteta will be concerned about the health of two stars in particular before the team’s return to Premier League action on September 17 at Everton, even though sixteen players in total have left London Colney.
Gabriel Jesus was a last-minute addition to the Brazil team for the matches against Bolivia and Peru in the World Cup qualifying round.
For the Selecao, the striker has taken the place of Manchester United star Antony.
Jesus underwent minor knee surgery and has only recently recovered fully.
Early in August, he underwent surgery to treat pain in the same knee that kept him out of action for three months the previous season.
Since sustaining the ligament injury during the World Cup in Qatar last December, he hasn’t played for his nation. Arteta will be wishing for trouble-free passage through the upcoming two matches.
With a 3-1 victory over Manchester United on Sunday, Jesus scored his first goal of the year. His physical condition will be crucial to Arsenal’s chances of winning this season.
William Saliba is comparable in this regard.
Additionally, the center back hasn’t played for France since his lone World Cup appearance.
His absence from the March and June internationals was due to a back injury.
With Arsenal, Saliba has had a strong start to the season and appears to be physically back to his best.
He seems destined to start right away in today’s (Thursday) Euro 2024 qualifying match against the Republic of Ireland. Saliba will pair up with Dayot Upamecano at the back, according to the French publication L’Equipe, since Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate is out injured.
Saliba is at least as significant to Arsenal as Jesus. His absence for the final two months of the previous campaign coincided with the Gunners’ dramatic decline in performance in the Premier League title race.
If Saliba gets hurt, Arteta won’t have a like-for-like replacement.
Thomas Partey won’t be back until at least October due to a groin issue, and Jurrien Timber will likely miss the majority of the season due to an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury.
Ben White was able to play more centrally because Partey started the season at right-back.
Saliba will likely need to play in every Premier League and Champions League game for Arsenal going forward, though, due to a lack of other options.
Naturally, Arteta will hope that none of his players sustain injuries while serving abroad. But given their recent fitness records, there might be more anxiety about Jesus and Saliba in particular.
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