Trossard is the club’s top scorer in pre-season. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
2. Deploy the in-form man
Trossard is making it almost impossible for Arteta not to include him in his strongest XI. It initially looked as if the Belgian would pip Gabriel Martinelli to a starting role down the left, but Jesus’ injury has opened the door for Trossard to start up top.
The former Brighton star was used in a central position by Arteta on multiple occasions last season when both Jesus and Nketiah were out. Overall, Trossard was able to replicate Jesus’ role better than Nketiah. His movement is excellent, and he’s got such a great appreciation for timing. Trossard’s a canny customer, and his brilliance has manifested time and time again this summer.
He’s currently the club’s top scorer in pre-season, and he may be destined to start the campaign in a central role so Martinelli can retain his place in the XI. Another in-house option for Arteta is Kai Havertz, but the German is seemingly preferred in Granit Xhaka’s left-sided #8 role.
ESR anyone?
Continued on the next slide…
@Arsenal <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"https://t.co/bCO6wja4Vo">pic.twitter.com/bCO6wja4Vo
<p>— Eddie Nketiah 📞 (@EddieNketiah9) <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"https://twitter.com/EddieNketiah9/status/1686851638340853761?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>August 2, 2023</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>1. Entrust Eddie again</h2>
<p>This is the most likely option.</p>
<p>Nketiah has come on leaps and bounds over the past two years, with the form he displayed at the end of 2021/22 convincing the club to tie him down to a lucrative long-term deal. While he was firmly the club’s second striker option last season, Nketiah registered over 1,000 Premier League minutes as a result of Jesus’ injury, scoring four times.</p>
<p>The Englishman has evolved into a more well-rounded forward who loves to drop from his advanced position to affect play in deeper areas. He’s a dynamic customer, but he won’t rotate to the extent Jesus does which limits Arsenal’s fluidity in attack.</p>
<p>Nketiah performed well enough last season when called upon, but his pre-season had been a tough one before he impressed on Wednesday evening. His performance against Monaco, in which he scored, should convince Arteta that his side will be alright if Eddie leads the line for a few weeks.</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #2 option for Arteta with Jesus out </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_135626" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135626" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1588623877-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1588623877-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1588623877-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1588623877-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1588623877-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Trossard is the club’s top scorer in pre-season. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>2. Deploy the in-form man</h2>
<p>Trossard is making it almost impossible for Arteta not to include him in his strongest XI. It initially looked as if the Belgian would pip Gabriel Martinelli to a starting role down the left, but Jesus’ injury has opened the door for Trossard to start up top.</p>
<p>The former Brighton star was used in a central position by Arteta on multiple occasions last season when both Jesus and Nketiah were out. Overall, Trossard was able to replicate Jesus’ role better than Nketiah. His movement is excellent, and he’s got such a great appreciation for timing. Trossard’s a canny customer, and his brilliance has manifested time and time again this summer.</p>
<p>He’s currently the club’s top scorer in pre-season, and he may be destined to start the campaign in a central role so Martinelli can retain his place in the XI. Another in-house option for Arteta is Kai Havertz, but the German is seemingly preferred in Granit Xhaka’s left-sided #8 role.</p>
<p>ESR anyone?</p>
<p><em>Continued on the next slide…</em></p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> #3 option for Arteta with Jesus out </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_135498" class="wp-caption alignnone">
<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-135498" src=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1706,w_2560/https%3A%2F%2Fpaininthearsenal.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1559377088-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" srcset="https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1559377088-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1559377088-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1559377088-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://paininthearsenal.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1559377088-2048x1365.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Could Arsenal sign another attacker this summer? (Photo by Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
<h2>3. Dips toe in the market</h2>
<p>Now, I’m not saying Arsenal should dive into the market for a Jesus replacement. That’d be silly considering he’s missing just a few weeks.</p>
<p>I don’t want to see any threads on Dusan Vlahovic or reasons why we should make a stunning move for Harry Kane. We’re not going to sign a number nine this summer.</p>
<p>However, what Jesus’ injury could do is hasten the club’s pursuit of a particular attacker from Ajax. Arsenal have been <a title="3 ways Arsenal could deploy Mohammed Kudus next season" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/23/3-ways-arsenal-could-deploy-mohammed-kudus-next-season/" rel="">tenuously linked with a move for Mohammed Kudus </a>with Chelsea reportedly leading the race for his signature.</p>
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<p>I thought the Gunners needed another attacking option – one to provide stiffer competition for Bukayo Saka – before Jesus went down. Now they really need one. A creative midfielder by trade, Kudus is versatile enough to line up wide right and in a false nine function. Arteta would love the guy, and I hope we see some movement on this front as <a title="What do the David Raya links mean for Aaron Ramsdale?" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/08/03/3-options-mikel-arteta-gabriel-jesus-injury/2/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2023/07/31/david-raya-aaron-ramsdale-links-arsenal/" rel="">opposed to a new goalkeeper </a>in the coming weeks.</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">
