Arsenal took a huge blow to their FA Cup chances when it was announced by Sami Mokbel and David Ornstein that Gabi Jesus is out with a knee injury. It’s thought to be minor, but that’s never stopped a cheeky three-month stint on the sidelines.
The news is bad because it gives us less options in a less options kind of 11. Zichenko will likely be out for the game as well. Two players that progress the ball forward and create general chaos. The deputies are adequate, but they struggle in big games. Eddie is a very good player, but he doesn’t have the spark of Jesus, and his form in front of goal hasn’t been good for a year. Kiwior has potential, but I worry about his lack of pace, and the reality that he looks very much like a centre-back out of water against teams like Fulham. The bigger picture that we’re now seeing in full technicolor is this: Buying from big clubs is always a trap. Jesus and Zinchenko moved from City, they took us to top 4, but it’s clear why they were let go. Both struggle with fitness and both have form issues that mean our striker doesn’t deliver goals and our fullback gets exposed defensively on the regular.
When you’re buying from a big club at the fee levels we’re paying – it’s elite damaged goods. Like buying a second hand BMW. We get much better output when we buy players on the rise. More £105m players like Declan Rice, please.
Also, this incident just further cements my narrative...