Gabriel Jesus early Arsenal team news hint for Aston Villa as Mikel Arteta gets injury boost

Latest Arsenal news ahead of the Premier League clash against Aston Villa

Mikel Arteta may feel the need to make numerous changes to his Arsenal starting XI for the Premier League clash with Aston Villa. Five days prior, the Gunners played out an exhilarating 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie, with the second leg to follow in Germany on Wednesday.

Between those two European fixtures is the visit of Aston Villa to Emirates Stadium as Arsenal continue their pursuit of the title. On Saturday, Manchester City went top after a 5-1 win over Luton Town, with Liverpool facing Crystal Palace before Arsenal take on Villa.

Given the quick turnaround, Arteta may opt to use the full complement of his squad and make some significant changes. A small injury list certainly helps matters, with Jurrien Timber as the only member of the squad guaranteed to miss the home clash against Villa.

Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Magalhaes have both emerged as doubts for the game, with the latter missing some training sessions this week. The Brazil international took a knock to the face against Bayern but carried on without any obvious problems.

"We will see tomorrow if everyone is available," Arteta said in response to being asked about talk of Gabriel missing training on Friday. "We have some, but hopefully, with another day, we’ll be okay." The Arsenal boss was also asked about the plaguing knee issue for Jesus that the player himself spoke about earlier this month, where he admitted to playing with pain.

"In elite sport, to play without pain, I think it is very difficult," Arteta replied. "When you play every three days, especially and the level that we play, if you ask any player, they will say, ‘Yeah, sometimes there is pain, and you have to deal with that’.

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"That is what makes you as well and Gabi has this toughness and this character that he always wants to overcome [it]. He has overcome some difficulties in terms of injuries and he is ready again." Following Arteta's admission, Jesus still featuring appears likely after he was spotted in the photos taken from the session at Emirates Stadium, with a hint also being dropped ahead of the game.

Across their social channels, Arsenal posted a pre-match graphic promoting the fixture with Jesus at front and centre. The player included is usually one that will start in the game or at the very least be included in the matchday squad.

Jorginho also posted a graphic on his Instagram story with it likely he continues in midfield alongside Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard. Ahead of them, Bukayo Saka's spot looks nailed with two spots then remaining for Jesus, Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli.

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