Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has sent his support to injured Arsenal star Gabriel Jesus.
Jesus left City after five-and-a-half years at the Etihad Stadium in the summer to join the Gunners, playing a vital role in their rise to the summit of the Premier League.
Arsenal’s title credentials will be put to the test in the coming months however with Jesus expected to be ruled out until March after undergoing knee surgery on a problem picked up during Brazil’s World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Jesus is set to miss a number of key Premier League games including Arsenal’s clash on 15 February against defending champions City – who they currently lead by five points.
Guardiola admits he was looking forward to seeing Jesus come up against his side and reassured Gunners fans he will come back at his best following the surgery.
Speaking ahead of City’s Carabao Cup clash with Liverpool on Thursday, Guardiola said: ‘I am so sorry for Gabriel.
‘I would prefer that he could play immediately with Arsenal. He’s an important player for them, like he was for us.
‘I want him to have an incredible and speedy recovery – I am so sorry for him because I know there isn’t one person at this club who could speak badly about him. But he will be back.’
Mikel Arteta has turned to Eddie Nketiah to lead the line in Arsenal’s friendly games ahead of their clash with West Ham United on Boxing Day.
The manager says he has faith in his back-up striker and while the club will consider bringing in a new face in the January transfer window, Arteta will explore further options within the current squad including deploying Gabriel Martinelli as a centre forward.
‘It’s a huge blow for us, obviously,’ said Arteta of Jesus’ injury.
‘He’s such an important player: he’s brought something very different to the team and it’s impossible to replace him. But we have other players, other alternatives and we’ll try to get that sorted. The transfer window is another option.
‘I think [Jesus] is a unique player but Eddie [Nketiah] has incredible qualities as well for the way we want to play. We have other alternatives in that we can play Martinelli up front as well.
‘We are currently a little bit short in terms of upfront positions but getting Emile [Smith Rowe] back is going to be a big one.’
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