The players Arsenal should sign to deal with Gabriel Jesus' injury
By Henry Burt
Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is set to miss up to three months with a knee injury sustained on international duty at the World Cup.
Having been called into the starting XI as Brazil head coach Tite rotated for the dead rubber against Cameroon, Jesus is now set to miss the rest of the competition as well as a sizeable portion of the remaining Premier League season.
This will come as terrible news for fans of the Gunners, who have been repeatedly wowed by Jesus' prowess in leading the line which has helped Arsenal soar to the top of the league in the early months of the campaign.
The good news? January is just around the corner, meaning Arsenal could opt to dip into the market to sign a ready-made replacement for their star man.
Let's take a look at some of the potential names on Mikel Arteta's shopping list.
1. Dusan Vlahovic
Arsenal were supposedly interested in signing Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina a year ago, only for the Serbian forward to opt for a move to Juventus instead.
The increasingly dire financial situation at the Italian giants means they could be forced to sell key players in the coming months, meaning a move for Vlahovic isn't entirely out of the question.
While the 22-year-old is more of a classic number nine than Jesus and less adept at pressing and linking play, he offers more than enough goals to make it a worthy trade-off.
2. Ivan Toney
Ivan Toney enraged Arsenal's players after tweeting 'nice kick about with the boys' following Brentford's 2-0 win over the Gunners last season.
If Arteta and his players can move past the injustice of a player writing a post gently mocking them on social media, they could find that Toney is the perfect replacement for Jesus up front.
The former Newcastle man would cost a pretty penny, but is a guaranteed source of goals with wonderful hold-up play and penalty-taking skills.
On the other hand, Toney could be about to face a ban for betting on matches, meaning he might be absent during the period Jesus is set to miss with injury.
3. Aleksandar Mitrovic
Another Serbian striker worth taking a look at is Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic. The 28-year-old has scored nine Premier League goals already this campaign and terrorises defences with his immense aerial prowess.
Fulham will be reluctant to part with their only consistent source of goals midway through the season, but if Mitrovic fancies the move across London his club could be left with no choice.
Again, he's very different in profile to Jesus - but his goalscoring prowess could mean this doesn't matter too much.
4. Mykhailo Mudryk
If Arteta doesn't fancy the idea of replacing his nimble pressing forward with a classic number nine, he might consider replacing Jesus without signing a striker at all.
Arsenal have been linked with Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhailo Mudryk for several months now and are considered among the favourites to land the 21-year-old's signature.
Should the Ukrainian move to the Emirates, we could see him out wide while Gabriel Martinelli fills in for Jesus up top.
5. Eddie Nketiah
Okay, so admittedly we're cheating a bit here since Eddie Nketiah is already an Arsenal player. However, isn't it possible that Arteta's replacement for Jesus is already right under his nose?
At 23 years of age, Nketiah is in need of regular first-team football in order to stand a chance of reaching his undoubted potential. He is more similar to Jesus in profile than any of the other names on this list and tends to score a few goals when given a run in the team.
Having signed a new deal worth £100,000 per week back in the summer, Nketiah is too valuable to simply spend the next five years rotting on the Arsenal bench. If he isn't given a chance to fill in for Jesus, he should really consider a move away to a club where he can play regularly.