Gabriel Jesus: Arsenal forward suffers suspected ACL injury in FA Cup loss to Manchester United

Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus suffered a suspected ACL injury in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Sunday leaving them with only one fit striker in Kai Havertz.

"We know more now. It is not looking good at all," said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta on Jesus' injury ahead of Wednesday's North London Derby.

"We need to review with one more specialist and will have better information this afternoon.

"I don't want to confirm anything until we have the final report this afternoon. We were very worried after the game and we are very worried today."

Zone Sporty VIP News understands Arsenal are working hard behind the scenes to recruit a striker in the January transfer window. They have been exploring both long-term targets and short-term options even before Jesus' injury.

Jesus started the cup tie against United but was forced off after just 41 minutes.

The Brazil international had scored six goals across his last seven appearances for Arsenal, who only have Havertz available to fill the centre-forward position having sold striker Eddie Nketiah to Crystal Palace in the summer.

"We are actively looking in the market to improve the squad," added Arteta. "We would be naive not to do that. There is an opportunity to improve the squad.

"We are looking and trying. Let's see what we are able to do. When you recruit a player there are three parties. We also have our limitations, we can do what we can do."

When pushed for an answer on whether or not a forward was the number one priority, he added: "In any position.

"We have other issues as well. A player can bring things to a team in different ways. That is what we are trying to do."

Jesus, 27, has seen his Arsenal career blighted by injury since arriving from Manchester City in 2022 and is now set for an extended period on the sidelines alongside forwards Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri.

Zone Sporty VIP' Richard Morgan:

Since swapping Man City for Arsenal in July 2022, Jesus has never managed to sustain a regular run up front for Arteta's side due to a combination of injuries - including picking up a knee problem at the 2022 World Cup - and lack of goals.

In fact, since making his Arsenal debut, the Brazil international has played 96 of the club's 132 games in all competitions, which is a rate of 75 per cent.

Jesus has never made more than 27 Premier League appearances in a season and 36 in total, while despite an impressive recent run of six goals across his last seven Arsenal appearances, the forward's highest Premier League goals tally came in his debut campaign in north London when he scored 11 times, which is also his best-ever total for a campaign.

As a result, Jesus's latest injury has left Mikel Arteta's side without a recognised striker for the Premier League title run-in after they let both Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson join Crystal Palace and Fulham [on a season-long loan] respectively last summer.

Zone Sporty VIP' Nick Wright:

Arsenal's main recruits in the off-season were Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori, with Raheem Sterling arriving later on loan. All three have struggled to make a positive impact, with Merino and Calafiori only making 12 starts each, and Sterling just five.

Injuries have not helped. All three have encountered issues, with Calafiori suffering a new setback which ruled him out on Sunday. But there are question marks hanging over them irrespective of injuries. Were they really what Arsenal needed to go to the next level?

Merino, for example, has brought aerial strength and duel-winning ability to Arsenal's midfield when it was probably in greater need of creativity and goal threat, especially having sold Emile Smith Rowe to Fulham and allowed Fabio Vieira to join Porto on loan.

The club hoped Sterling might bring those qualities in attack when they took the chance to sign him on loan. But it is damning that Arteta has rarely turned to him, even when he has been fit. Halfway into his spell, he has played a paltry 146 Premier League minutes.

He will likely be needed now, with Jesus having joined the injury list. But, like Merino and Calafiori, he has work to do to show he can give Arsenal and Arteta what they need.

Arteta talked up his "love" of his players in the wake of Sunday's defeat but it is becoming increasingly obvious the only solutions to their attacking issues lie in the transfer market. The problem is that the January window is far tougher to navigate than the summer one.

Arteta says the social media abuse sent to Havertz' wife Sophia following the defeat to Manchester United "cannot happen" and called for "perspective" to the Arsenal striker's struggle in front of goal.

Havertz also missed good chances in regulation time to bury United - five days after he failed to convert a great opportunity to score in Arsenal's 2-0 first-leg semi-final defeat to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup.

Commenting on the social media abuse aimed at Havertz and his family, Arteta continued: "It's incredible, honestly. We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.

"It's something we have to eradicate from the game because it's so cynical and dependent to a result of an action. There is no other industry like this.

"When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the 'Waka, Waka' (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?

"We are all responsible. You guys (the media) are responsible, everybody is responsible for the narrative and how we talk. We cannot look somewhere else. That's a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.

"We can accept it and say 'that's our job', but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football. What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That's it."

Arsenal reported the social media abuse to Signify, a tech company that investigates online abuse directed at players. The club also reported the accounts to Instagram.

Zone Sporty VIP News understands Arsenal will take the strongest possible action against the culprits.

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