Arsenal striker and star signing Gabriel Jesus is expected to be fully fit to face Leeds United on Sunday (16 October), according to Charles Watts.
The Brazilian striker signed for the Gunners from Manchester City in a £45million summer move and has been impressive under Mikel Arteta so far with Arsenal top of the Premier League by one point.
But Jesus was absent from the team that won away at Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday with a knock, however Watts, a journalist for GOAL, believes he will be fine to face the Whites.
“He knew he was going to wake up after that game feeling pretty battered and bruised so he’s been left behind,” Watts said prior to the Bodo/Glimt win via his YouTube page.
“Mikel just said we felt that everything he’s been through in the last few weeks it would be better for him to stay at home.
“I’m told there’s no concern for him ahead of the Leeds game, he will be ok for that. It was just purely a case of giving him a little bit of time off, give him a little rest.”
Given the form that Arteta’s side are in right now, every single Leeds player who steps onto the field at Elland Road on Sunday (16 October) will have to be on their absolute A game to get a result out of the contest.
Even that might not be enough but Jesse Marsch has to instil that belief in his players that a perfect performance will warrant the perfect result and bring the Gunners’ hype train grinding to a sudden halt.
With a packed and rowdy home support in at LS11, there is every chance that the youthful Arsenal side buckle under the pressure but that has to be put on from the very start.
If Arsenal ever get the chance to settle into the game then they will slowly turn the screw and suffocate Leeds until they eventually make a mistake or a gap opens up, similar to how Manchester City have bloodied every other Premier League side over the past half a decade or so.
Marsch cannot let that happen so it will have to be hell for leather from the first to the last whistle.
In other Leeds United news, this teenage sensation at Thorp Arch is on a prestigious list of nominees and it surely has to be turning Marsch’s head.