Arsenal’s return to action on Boxing Day having had a pretty miserable Christmas period, without even playing. They sit top of the table by five points having had the best start to a season in almost two decades and the Gunners have lost just once so far this term.
But their presents from Father Christmas this year have left them feeling blue, and stacked the odds against them. Mikel Arteta must have had to recreate the false joy you show when you receive yet another Lynx Africa set from your grandparents when he realised how many of his stars were off to the World Cup.
No Gunner came back with a World Cup winners medal and instead, Arteta’s squad, which was thin already, was seriously hampered. Gabriel Jesus is the biggest loss on paper. The striker has been absolutely fantastic since joining from Manchester City in the summer, and has played in every single Premier League match so far.
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He’s been instrumental in linking play, while he’s also contributed six goals and five assists in the Premier League so far. Arteta knew he would be good, but even he must have been taken aback by his contribution to date, which is why his long-term injury comes as such a blow. With Brazil at the World Cup, he suffered a knee injury that has required surgery.
It’s expected to rule him out for several months, but the club have put no timespan on his potential return. "It's going to take some time for sure," his manager said. "He's gone through surgery and that tells you the extent of the injury, so we will be in the market, always active and we will assess the biggest opportunities we have. We are going to be active and active means we are looking to strengthen the team.”
Entering the market is a necessity at this stage, with only Eddie Nketiah able to fill that void, but any replacement will not be able to do what Jesus can do. They also can't join until January, which means Arsenal are likely to have to get through three top flight games before they can bring anybody in.
It isn’t just Jesus that is missing however. Ben White, who was having a top season at right-back, left England’s World Cup squad with personal issues and is unlikely to feature for Arsenal over the next few weeks.
“That is something personal that is down to Ben,” Arteta said. “We have done everything that we could to support him to again give him an environment that he is comfortable in. He has been exceptional with us and that is what we expect for him."
It’s a massive loss for the boss who could also be without Takehiro Tomiyasu, who picked up a hamstring injury with Japan, but is back running on the grass. Emile Smith Rowe has been out since September and is nearing a return to action, Albert Sambi Lokonga has picked up a knock and Reiss Nelson is a doubt. All three haven’t made a big impact this term but Oleksandr Zinchenko, the versatile left back, certainly has.
He is the next name on the injury list, with his calf issue. He hasn’t played in any of the mid-season warm-up games and could provide yet more defensive issues for the Spanish boss. William Saliba is likely to be called upon, despite being at the World Cup final for France just a week ago.
The injury list is long and could be problematic with the lack of squad depth, but it isn’t all bad news. Importantly, three standout attackers are all fit, and in form. Bukayo Saka was sensational at the World Cup, Gabriel Martinelli didn’t get much gametime with Brazil but is on the cusp of a long-term contract, while Martin Odegaard is raring to go.
With those three, Arsenal can compete with anybody, but they are certainly weaker than they were at the start of the season. West Ham at home should be a game they can win, in front of their own fans, but it will provide the perfect barometer as to just how damaging these injuries will be.
Dropping points could spell the beginning of the end of Arsenal’s Premier League title bid.
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