Arsenal lost striker Gabriel Jesus at the beginning of the new season
"This is very bad news for us. Jesus is regaining top form, as shown by the way he played the match against Barca. But now we will lose him for a few weeks," coach Mikel Arteta said at the meeting. Press conference after Emirates Cup friendly match against Monaco on 2/8
The Portuguese coach said Jesus has been uncomfortable since the past few weeks. "We have to decide and see that it is best to protect the player so that he can return to health as soon as possible. Therefore, we decided that Jesus must go to the operating table to solve the problem," he said. said more.
Arteta also revealed that Bukayo Saka did not play because of illness, and Oleksandr Zinchenko will soon recover and return to training. In the Emirates Cup match, Saka was on the bench for the whole match, and Zinchenko was not registered.
At the Emirates Stadium on August 2, Arsenal had a bad start and let Monaco open the scoring thanks to Youssouf Fofana's close-range header. Eddie Nketiah - who wore the armband to replace Martin Odegaard as a substitute - equalized, before Arsenal won 5-4 on penalties. Odegaard, Jorginho, Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Magalhaes all succeeded, and Takumi Minamino was the only one to fail on Monaco's side.
Arteta admitted Arsenal experienced a difficult match because they were not in the best shape and form when traveling continuously and returning from the US tour. "It is true that we had difficulty controlling the game, especially in the first half," said the 41-year-old coach. "I felt the players were a bit tired and lost in the challenges. Arsenal played better in the second half, but not enough to score the decisive goal. At least we won on penalties."
The match against Monaco marked the return of William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu - the defender duo who missed the end of last season due to injury, and was the first time rookies Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz played in front of the home crowd. at Emirates. Therefore, Arteta feels that the most positive thing from the victory over Monaco is the fact that many players have the opportunity to come out and warm up before the new season, and at the same time, assess that the new signings are integrating very well.
The Spaniard also refused to talk about rumors that Arsenal were targeting Brentford goalkeeper David Raya and praised Aaron Ramsdale for his good performance, including saving a penalty from former Liverpool striker Takumi Minamino.
Emirates Cup is an annual pre-season friendly tournament organized by Arsenal at Emirates home since 2007. The seventh time "Gunners" won this friendly tournament, after 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017 , 2022.
The Emirates Cup match closes Arsenal's summer training period. In the previous four friendly matches, Arteta's teachers and students drew 1-1 with Nuremberg, won the MLS All-Star 5-0, lost to Man Utd 0-2 and won against Barca 5-3. The new season will begin for Arsenal on August 6, when they compete for the English Super Cup against Man City at Wembley. A week later, on August 12, Arsenal returned to the Emirates Stadium to host Nottingham Forest in the first round of the Premier League.
