Speaking to SportsLens, Ray Parlour has been discussing Gabriel Jesus’ injury.
The Brazilian striker went down with a knee injury on World Cup duty, and this is a real blow to Arsenal’s title chances.
Indeed, the former Manchester City man is facing up to three months on the sidelines, and that is the last thing Arsenal need right now.
Jesus has been vital to Arsenal’s brilliant start to the season, and Parlour has agreed that this is a negative piece of news.
However, despite the Jesus blow, Parlour has stated that this isn’t the worst thing that could happen to Arsenal.
Indeed, the pundit is of the opinion that an injury to Thomas Partey would be much more damaging than Jesus’ injury.
Partey would be missed
Parlour spoke about Jesus’ injury and Partey.
“I heard it was only three weeks initially but now it’s seemingly three months which is obviously a much bigger issue. In terms of a title challenge I think Thomas Partey is arguably more important to the team than Jesus. If he gets injured we might struggle without backup for that position,” Parlour said.
“I’m sure Mikel Arteta is delighted each time one of his players gets knocked out of the World Cup without getting injured! There’s still 24 games to go in the Premier League and the games are going to come thick and fast once it kicks off again so he’s going to need his squad as fit as can be.”
January priority
These comments ought to show Mikel Arteta what his January priority has to be.
Yes, Arsenal could do with a new striker and a new winger, but midfield reinforcements are absolutely vital.
Beyond Partey and Granit Xhaka, Arsenal are incredibly light and the January window needs to be viewed as an opportunity to address this issue within the Gunners’ squad.
As Parlour says, losing Partey could be an absolute disaster.
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