Here We Go: Edu and Arteta SPOTTED With Perfect Gabriel Jesus Replacement as Kroenke approves €150 transfer budget, Done Deal Could happen in January

 Here We Go: Edu and Arteta SPOTTED With Perfect Gabriel Jesus Replacement as Kroenke approves €150 transfer budget, Done Deal Could happen in January

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu have been busy in the air as of late, but will soon hope to be busy in the January transfer market as they look set to spend in order to replace striker Gabriel Jesus. The Brazil forward picked up an injury at the World Cup and has since returned to London in order to find out how long he is set to spend on the sidelines.

After he was heartbreakingly ruled out of the rest of the tournament in Qatar, Jesus and his family flew back to the club and he is set to see a knee specialist in London according to the London Evening Standard. There had been reports that the Gunners’ star faces up to three months out, but the club have yet to confirm how long the Brazilian would miss.

If the 25-year-old is set to spend an extended time on the sidelines, it would leave Arteta’s side light in terms of striking options with only Eddie Nketiah as the club’s only other recognised senior striker. Gabriel Martinelli has played centrally in the past, but an ideal situation could see another forward option brought into the squad during January.

Arteta and Edu’s need for a striker could well have been the topic of conversation during a pre-arranged trip to the USA to speak with Stan Kroenke. The owner has backed the Spaniard in recent years, having spent over £100million in the summer, and another £150m the previous yearThe report claims that before Jesus’ injury, Arsenal’s January priority was a wide forward but after meeting with the owner, Arteta and Edu’s plan may since have changed as they look to bring another forward in.

The pair were in the air once again as they then flew to Dubai from Los Angeles to join the squad for their warm-weather training camp ahead of the Premier League’s return after the World Cup.

Despite having Eddie Nketiah as an internal choice and having the possible option to recall Folarin Balogun from his loan sell at French side Stade Reims, the temptation to dip into the transfer market next month will be there. While the Gunners are likely to wait until the summer to sign a high-profile attacker, there is an opportunity to bring in another goal scorer to ensure there is no drop off in form.

Over the weekend, technical director Edu was pictured meeting with Gunners owner Stan Kroenke and director Josh Kroenke in Los Angeles. They were in attendance to witness LA Rams take on the Seattle Seahawks at the Kroenke-owned SoFi Stadium, but the talking matter of replacing Jesus is almost certain to have been brought up during discussions.