Arsenal now want to do something to help Gabriel Jesus return more quickly

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Arsenal are looking to help Gabriel Jesus accelerate his return from his ACL injury.

Jesus returned to full training last week after being absent from Mikel Arteta’s set-up for over nine months, following his anterior cruciate ligament tear in January.

While his future in North London is uncertain, the Gunners are determined to get the Brazilian back on the pitch as soon as possible and are taking precautionary steps to make this happen.

Arsenal Insider revealed back in September that Jesus could be sold in January if there are genuine suitors, but he could yet make a final major contribution to Arsenal’s season before departing.

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Arsenal looking to arrange behind-closed-doors friendly for Gabriel Jesus

Jesus tore his ACL in an FA Cup tie against Manchester United in January in devastating circumstances.

The 28-year-old had just rediscovered his best form and had established himself as a reliable option in Arteta’s squad again, after being in and out of the side in the prior 18 months.

He has spent the last ten months in rehabilitation and is finally nearing a return. That said, while he may have returned to training, he’s still some way off making an appearance in a competitive fixture.

However, Arsenal are looking at ways to help him step up his recovery, one of which is by arranging a behind-closed-doors friendly at Sohba Realty.

According to the Mirror, the Gunners are eager to host a non-competitive match at their training ground over the international break to help Jesus build up his fitness.

While they are still cautious about blooding him in a real game any time soon, they believe that early involvement in a controlled environment could be hugely beneficial in accelerating his comeback.

This should allow Jesus to reintegrate into the squad more easily, while the friendly will also allow players not on international duty to retain their fitness momentum.

Other injured players who are edging closer to a return, such as Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz, could also feature in the behind-closed-doors clash.

Gabriel Jesus’ statistics 2022/23

Jesus was electric in his first six months at Arsenal, prior to the 2022 World Cup.

The elusive number nine was outstanding in almost every facet of the game, with his dribbling, combination play and pressing all pivotal facets to the Gunners’ success in the first half of the 2022/23 season.

While it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to hit this level again after years of persistent knee injuries, it’s certainly plausible that he can contribute to Arsenal’s season in some capacity.

He’ll return to the fold behind both Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres in the pecking order, but he’s still capable of providing something different to these two functional strikers.

Even if he’s able to play a handful of short cameos off the bench in cup competitions, there will be a romantic element to Jesus’ potentially successful return to the pitch for Arsenal.