Reports are that he will miss ‘up to a month,’ admittedly before there’s been a scan. If that holds, I can’t see any way the plans for January change.
This quotes the team doctor saying he is having a scan tomorrow (which would be today): https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/brazil-neymar-injury-update-gabriel-jesus-b1044562.html
He's looking like a guy that can play ST & W isn't he? Gonna be very pricey. Bet PSV try to go after Antony money.
Fvck. @casoccerdad47 and @mebeSajid are apparently right: supposedly Jesus needs surgery and is set to miss up to three months. https://arseblog.news/2022/12/reports-jesus-facing-3-months-out-requires-surgery/
Well, now I’m glad I didn’t book a Memorial Day trip to London to see us lift the trophy. But yikes. Feels like the Walcott ACL tear and the RVP injuries.
Realistically, who can we actually get? A sneaky play for a Memphis type as a late-career rental may make more sense than a big splash on a younger player like Gakpo given the funds and years we have committed to Jesus. Or just sign Mudryk, hope ESR comes back and is healthy, and shuttle Martinelli between wing and center forward rotations? But he doesn’t do the things Jesus does in that position.
Yeah, easiest answer would be to continue their obvious plan of loading up on the wing, and to move Martinelli to CF for the time being. We will still lose a lot in hold-up play but I don’t think there are any other obvious options that won’t be a downgrade from Jesus in that regard
I think we’re going to see a lot of Nketiah regardless of what we think is a better alternative. I’ve actually been somewhat encouraged by his all-around play at times this season; time for him to step up for real.
he also plays much better as a starter. full season, he's probably not good enough. for a month while we wait for full recovery from gabe jesus? doable, i think.
Well sh*t. Signing a pure CF doesn't seem likely because there will be a second coming for Jesus and things would get crowded with Nketiah and a new CF. Bournemouth on 3/4 and Fulham on 3/11 could be winnable without him, hopefully worst case he is back by 3/18 vs Palace. Maybe he makes an amazing recovery and is back on 2/15 against City. When were we thinking the other City match will be made up? Would suck if he misses both matches against his old club. If it felt like a winger was needed before this injury, then adding one attacker to replace Jesus just gets back to the status quo. Maybe sign two of Mudryk, Torres and Lindstrom? But if they sign 2 attacking players, do they still have the funds to buy a Partey backup? Or do they roll the dice and hope Partey can stay healthy with Elneny as cover? I don't think anyone would like that idea but I have a hard time seeing them splurge for 3 new players.
Yeah hard to imagine us getting Gakpo but even if we do, it seems now (with the latest Jesus injury news) that we need to focus more on Center Forward rather than Wide Forward.
The only good thing is that the January window is <1mo away, which gives us a chance to plug this hole, IF KSE is willing to spend, and IF we can find someone of the profile we need to fit our system. And that last point could be the most significant. I assume that we can't just sign "any old elite striker" but we need someone who is well suited to the Arteta/Guardiola system. We already robbed on guy from Pep, so that ain't happenin again. And even if we find the right profile, it's far from trivial to get them assimilated into our particular squad and system. Losing Jesus until March, say, is a huge blow. He was such a revolutionary force in the first 3 mos of our season, especially the first 1-2 mos. I feel like his entrance is what kickstarted and enabled our amazing record.
I've never been convinced of ESR as CF. But I can *definitely* see Martinelli being good there! Not least because of the way he played for Brazil a few days ago. If he could play like that for us for a good stretch, I'd have some optimism. And if Mudryk, ESR or whoever can fill his old role on the left, we might just be able to sustain our good run. But the whole thing seems quite iffy. Still, we may have little choice but to try that.
Certainly give him a try for several games. He deserves that chance. But I personally wouldn't bet on him being good enough. At least in the very short term that we're going to need.
Another option, I suppose, although maybe not the best for his development. (🌕) Folarin Balogun’s contract does have a recall clause in it for this January. (@TomCantonMedia) pic.twitter.com/5Lq9wClacP— Talking Highbury (@TalkingHighbury) December 4, 2022
If Jesus is out for 3 months, we need to buy someone who can cover that position. Eddie wasn't even cutting it as a backup. Forget challenging City for the title, we would risk our spot in the top 4. Smith Rowe hasn't played a competitive game in 6 months, it is likely he will have to be slowly eased in, and even then will be susceptible to pick up a little knock here or there as he gets back to playing regularly. The squad was too thin before this injury, so we need to do some business, and do it fast. Put bids in now. Get all of the negotiations done and out of the way so we can have players signed by that first week in January.
Eddie has been very mediocre. After the new contract and no 14, which I believe now is cursed, he's been chillaxed.
The more I think about it the more I would like to see us find a young OG with a bit more mobility. Arteta may not agree, but I feel it is important to have some variety at ST so you have the option to switch up tactics when things arent working. Havent researched enough to get a list of names. Off the top of my head, the closest option which that I think Arteta would agree to is Thuram. He isn't quite the target man that OG is/was but he is tall, fast, presses and is having a very good year. Ive also seen some claims that Gladbach is willing to sell him for 10m in Jan to avoid losing him for free this summer. Also seen claims that both Bayern & spuds are interested.