Paul Merson has relayed his concerns about Arsenal being without Gabriel Jesus and questioned Eddie Nketiah’s capabilities to help the team.
Arsenal are set to resume their Premier League campaign by hosting West Ham United at the Emirates on Boxing Day. The Gunners are on top of the table and could temporarily go eight points clear with a win over the Hammers.
The Gunners went five points ahead of Manchester City before the World Cup break. Mikel Arteta is under tremendous pressure to keep Arsenal lively in the title race. But they will have to challenge Pep Guardiola’s side without influential striker Gabriel Jesus. He suffered a knee injury at the World Cup.
The Brazilian forward is set to remain on the sidelines for up to three months, and it is a terrible loss for Arsenal. There are question marks about Eddie Nketiah’s ability to fill the Brazilian’s shoes, as he is yet to open his account in the league this season.
Arsenal are linked with few strikers to replace Jesus. But widespread reports suggest they may not bring in a new forward. Arteta might stick with his original plans of signing a new winger and midfielder during the January transfer window.
🗣️ | Paul Merson doesn’t fancy Arsenal’s chances without Gabriel Jesus… pic.twitter.com/uuonGFvvvy
— TEAMtalk (@TEAMtalk) December 24, 2022
Jesus has proven to be an influential presence in Arteta’s system since joining Arsenal in the summer. While he only has five goals to his name, his all-round displays have brought the best out of players like Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka.
Arsenal icon Paul Merson has relayed his fears for the north Londoners ahead of the second part of the season. In his column for the Daily Star, Merson suggested the Gunners may not win the title or even finish in the top four without Jesus. He also questioned Eddie Nketiah’s ability to replace the Brazilian sufficiently.
Merson said, “They could go eight points clear if they beat West Ham before Manchester City play a game, and you still wouldn’t fancy them to win the title without Gabriel Jesus. It’s hard because even though he doesn’t score an awful lot of goals, he is still so effective. If he’s out for three months, I’d be shocked if they got in the top four. I don’t see where the goals come from; I might be wrong.”
The Arsenal icon also ruled out seeing Gabriel Martinelli in the centre-forward role. Merson then questioned Eddie Nketiah’s capabilities to help the Gunners in a title challenge. Merson continued, “Without being horrible, what Premier League team does Eddie Nketiah get in?”
“Wolves are bottom, for instance, they’re desperate for a goal, and they wouldn’t go and get him. For me, it’s really worrying. This is no disrespect to Nketiah or the other players, but Jesus gels everything together. He is Arsenal’s very own Roberto Firmino. Nketiah might deliver for three games, but I just don’t see him doing it for 10 or more matches.”
Merson has a point about Nketiah, considering the forward is yet to score a Premier League goal this season. He did find the net on a few occasions in the Europa League, although he is yet to start a league game this season. Hence, those questions surrounding the Gunners’ No.14 seem valid to an extent.
