Mikel Arteta on Martinelli playing centrally: “We look at the squad & we consider every option, obviously, with the players that we have available. There are things that we can try if we have the need to do so.”
Jesus injured his knee during the World Cup with Brazil. He has undergone surgery but no fixed date yet for his return.
Arsenal defeated Lyon 3-0 on Thursday in the Dubai Super Cup. They face AC Milan on Tuesday.
Martinelli scored five times and assisted two others in 14 Premier League appearances. He is yet to hit the target for Brazil in Qatar.
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'He'll be a big, big part of the next months': Xhaka backs Nketiah to replace injured Gabriel Jesus
Speaking about Gabriel Jesus’ injury and the possibility of Eddie Nketiah stepping in to replace him for the time being at Arsenal, Granit Xhaka said: “I don’t know how big the injury is, maybe two or three months, I think, but he is a strong guy.
“It’s a small injury for him I think & we will support him. He knows that we are behind him & hopefully we can get him back as quick as possible.
“We have the option with Eddie [Nketiah]. He showed great games in the past. We need to support Eddie, he will be a big, big part of the next two or three months, but I am looking forward to it because we have the quality to bring Eddie there.”
Xhaka seems to be confident about Nketiah’s ability to be an able replacement for Jesus in the centre-forward role, even though some Gooners don’t appear to be that ecstatic about seeing that.
The Brazilian forward could miss up to three months of action as he recovers from the knee surgery he underwent on Tuesday.
‘We can’t rely on this bloke’: Some Arsenal fans unconvinced with Nketiah's ability to replace Jesus
Arsenal have been dealt a huge blow as Gabriel Jesus has undergone surgery and will be out for a few months.
That would mean the Gunners will not have their influential striker for a lot of matches after the World Cup break.
Mikel Arteta will now have to come up with more options to play in that centre-forward role in his absence.
Eddie Nketiah is a natural replacement for him, but some Gooners don’t seem to be convinced by his ability to do so. Here is how they reacted on Twitter.
Mark Kelly: ‘Christ, title charging with Eddie Nketiah as your ST, we seen last season how that went. Simply not good enough, January transfer window is HUGE.”
Lucas Bitw: “Speak for yourself I don’t want him upfront at my club for 3 months. Buy someone else or play Gabi at striker.”
Obrempong: “Let’s be frank over here he can’t lead us he’s not good enough. Is the hope that kills. Stopping thinking that Eddie can be like Jesus never.”
Evan: “Nope Eddie needs to be on the bench. Sign a first team striker in January.”
Toy: “Stop hyping this up, we need a proper striker, yes we r behind him as a supporting act coming off the bench!!”
Chnr: “Now is the time to buy another striker. We can’t rely solely on this bloke.”
