Gabriel Jesus is going to be a “massive loss” for Arsenal but they have been warned against signing FC Barcelona star Ferran Torres to replace him.
The Brazilian joined Arsenal in the summer from Manchester City for around £45m.
The forward has been able to hit the ground running for the Gunners, but he was out of the goals in the weeks before the World Cup.
This did not matter too much because he offers so much for Arsenal. He is a vital cog in Mikel Arteta’s armoury as he expertly brings Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka into the game.
Arsenal will be without Jesus for a couple of months though as he suffered a serious knee injury while playing for Brazil at the World Cup.
This leaves them with Eddie Nketiah as the obvious option to play up front but Arteta could opt to play Martinelli through the middle instead.
Johan Djourou has suggested that it will be hard for Arsenal to “find another player like” Jesus.
“Mikel Arteta knows better [than me] what he needs and what he can do with the resources they have, but definitely Gabriel Jesus is a massive loss for them,” Djourou told talkSPORT.
“I think that the energy he brings to the team, even if he wasn’t scoring goals, just the fact he’s pressuring other teams makes him special.
“And it’s hard to find another player like that.
“The better players are Erling Haaland who is at Manchester City, and a player like Julian Alvarez who is with City as well, so it’s hard to find players who fit with the system and who know Arteta.
“Because, don’t forget, Gabriel knew Arteta, he knew what to expect, he knew the system, he knew everything about him as a coach before he signed for Arsenal.
“To find that player now is tricky. But they need to definitely add some forwards.”
Arsenal have been linked with Torres in recent months. They paid around €55m to sign him from Barcelona.
Djourou does not think Jesus would be a worthwhile signing for his former club.
“A player like Ferran Torres at Barcelona? That could be interesting,” Djourou added.
“But I don’t feel that Ferran has shown enough in the Premier League, or at Barcelona either.”
Djourou was also asked if Arsenal have what it takes to win the Premier League this season.
“I really hope they have, because they sound on what they do and the philosophy,” Djourou continued.
“Time is what you need and it’s nice to see that they have actually built something and it’s working.
“Now, is the time to see with the injuries and the players coming back from the World Cup.
“[Takehiro] Tomiyasu is coming back who said he needed time, they’ve got [Thomas] Partey coming back, [Granit] Xhaka coming back, so let’s see how all those things now come together and see who is the strongest in coming back.”
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