Mikel Arteta handed Gabriel Jesus boost and offers injury update on Arsenal trio
The Brazilian is set to boost the Gunners in their pursuit of the Premier League title, while the Spanish coach has provided the latest on the condition of Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu
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Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Gabriel Jesus is fit enough to return for Arsenal.
The Brazilian featured on the bench for the Gunners against Newcastle, but Arteta opted against using him with the points safe in the 4-1 victory.
As Jesus reportedly deals with fluid on his knee, Arteta may look to manage his minutes in the coming weeks since last featuring in the 2-1 victory at Nottingham Forest in January.
“He’s fit enough,” Arteta confirmed ahead of the trip to Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United on Monday. “How long he will last that’s very different.
“We didn’t want to take any risks. We need him fit and now we want to make sure we load him in the right way.”
Arteta also confirmed the condition of Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu is improving and the trio could feature against the Blades.
“Those ones, it’s possible, but we’ll have to wait and see,” Arteta added. “If that’s the case they might be available on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Gunners are preparing to open contract negotiations with Jorginho following a string of standout performances, the PA news agency understands.
The 32-year-old Italy midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season. Jorginho joined Arsenal from London rivals Chelsea last January and has so far made 41 appearances across all competitions, scoring once.
A Euro 2020 winner at Wembley, the former Napoli player has impressed Gunners boss Mikel Arteta with his professional approach and has added much-needed experience to a young squad at the Emirates Stadium.
It is understood that a one-year deal with the option of a further year is planned as an opening point for talks with Jorginho, who won the Champions League and Europa League during his five-year stint at Chelsea.
He put in a man-of-the-match display in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday and also shone in the recent 3-1 victory over Liverpool.
Arteta agreed that Jorginho’s level has been “world class” in recent weeks.
The Arsenal manager said after the win over Newcastle: “He is certainly [world class].
“I think individually today we were outstanding in the way we played and we raised the bar again.
“Newcastle are a top side, they are really well-coached and it’s very difficult to do what we’ve done today, to have them in the positions and to make them suffer like we’ve done, so credit to the boys.”
PA contributed to this report
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