Gabriel Jesus among three Arsenal stars to miss final training session ahead of Porto

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Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu were all absent from the final Arsenal training session ahead of their trip to Porto.

Arsenal stars Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu have all been sidelined with fitness issues recently.

The trio may well also be absent for the Gunners’ first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash against Porto on Wednesday evening.

Mikel Arteta’s side have shown in recent weeks that they can cope without Zinchenko, Tomiyasu, and Jesus. Jakub Kiwior has done an admirable job of filling-in at left-back, which has in turn created an opportunity for Arteta to adjust Ben White’s tactical function in the team. This change has proven an effective measure, as with White now tucking into the middle of the park from his starting right-back berth, more space has been created for Bukayo Saka to exploit.

Meanwhile, in the absence of Jesus, Leandro Trossard has been spearheading the attack to great effect. The Belgian’s connection with Kai Havertz on the pitch has provided a positive development. Jesus has now been warned that he may struggle to get back into the starting XI if Trossard can maintain his current form.

Arsenal need Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Takehiro Tomiyasu to address fitness issues

However, Arteta will still be desperate to get a full complement of players back. The Gunners have plenty of huge fixtures coming up, even beyond this Champions League encounter. As such, fans of the club will be disappointed to learn that Jesus, Zinchenko, and Tomiyasu could not be spotted in Arsenal’s most recent training session, as reported by football.london.

Longer-term absentees such as Jurrien Timber, Thomas Partey, and Fabio Vieira also remain out of action. However, Partey and Vieira are thought to be close to making a return.

It is vital that Arsenal are able to get some of these players back to full fitness as soon as possible. Last season, the Gunners’ title push fell apart due, to at least some extent, to the loss of William Saliba to injury for the duration of the run-in. It would be a disaster if a similar fate were to halt the club’s push for silverware again this time around.

Given their current form, even with some key players missing, Arsenal will still be considered favourites against Porto. The likes of Zinchenko, Jesus, and Tomiyasu have all suffered injury issues on a regular basis throughout their Arsenal careers, though, which will be a growing cause of frustration for Arteta.