Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is expected to spend at least three months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on the knee injury he sustained while playing for Brazil at the World Cup.
The 25-year-old had taken a backseat role under Tite before being thrust into the first XI against Cameroon for their final Group G fixture, although he was ineffective and taken off just after the hour.
However, it soon emerged that Jesus had sustained an issue in his knee, which ruled him out of the tournament, and he immediately flew back to London for further assessment.
Jesus's injury was serious enough to require an operation, which Arsenal announced was successful earlier this week, but he now prepares for weeks of rehabilitation before he can help the North Londoners in their quest for Premier League glory.
The goals dried up for the Brazilian just before the World Cup, but his all-around play has been invaluable to Mikel Arteta, who now has Eddie Nketiah as his only senior striker for the time being.
Nketiah stepped up his game at the end of the 2021-22 season to earn a new long-term contract, but with the Gunners still competing in the Premier League, Europa League and FA Cup, the 23-year-old will need some form of support.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at three solutions for Arsenal as they plan for a lengthy period without their star striker.
Transfer market
A remarkable start to the season sees Arsenal sit five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, and they have been expected to splash the cash in January to try to maintain their unassailable lead for as long as possible.
Manager Arteta and sporting director Edu recently met with owner Stan Kroenke in Los Angeles to discuss plans for the winter market, where a new midfielder and winger are believed to be two priorities over another striker.
However, failure to bolster their attacking ranks arguably cost Arsenal their top-four chances last season, and Gunners chiefs cannot afford to make the same mistake again lest their season end in familiarly disappointing fashion.
There are a number of high-profile attacking options about to enter the final six months of their contracts, namely Barcelona's Memphis Depay and Borussia Monchengladbach's Marcus Thuram, both of whom have been linked with a move to the Emirates.
Arsenal will most likely face intense competition to sign the pair, who may also have reservations about a move if they believe they are viewed as a short-term solution until Jesus is back, at which point the Brazilian would expect to come straight back into the starting lineup.
The Gunners' interest in Wilfried Zaha in 2019 was well-documented, and the Crystal Palace man is soon to become a free agent alongside Lyon's Moussa Dembele and Roma's Andrea Belotti. Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo is available, and journalist Rudy Galetti has even claimed that the Gunners are interested in the five-time Ballon d'Or, but Piers Morgan is seemingly one of just a handful of souls pushing for Arteta to make an audacious move for the Portugal man.
Loan recalls
When news broke of Jesus's expected lengthy absence, many Arsenal fans were quick to point to Folarin Balogun, who has lit up Ligue 1 since making the move to Reims on a season-long loan deal.
The 21-year-old was evidently not quite ready for the step-up to Premier League football, but with eight goals and two assists in 15 Ligue 1 games, he has been worth his weight in gold across the Channel.
As well as finding the back of the net against second-placed Lens and nine-time champions Marseille, Balogun was part of a Reims side who held Paris Saint-Germain to a goalless draw earlier this season, and he was presented with a good chance to score against the league leaders before getting a header horribly wrong.
Nevertheless, Balogun's exploits in France have led to suggestions that Arsenal could recall the England Under-21 international in January, but no talks are believed to be taking place at present, and there has been little to no mention of bringing Nicolas Pepe back from Nice either.
Balogun was not the only out-and-out striker to leave Arsenal on loan over the summer, as 19-year-old Danish starlet Mika Biereth headed for the Eredivisie with RKC Waalwijk but has been bedevilled by injuries.
Biereth has only made four appearances for the Dutch side in the top flight - scoring a brace in one of them during a 3-2 win over Groningen - while Ipswich Town loanee Tyreece John-Jules is recovering from his own surgery after a hamstring tear last month.
Gabriel Martinelli through the middle
Enough of the negative injury news for Arsenal - onto a positive note. The Gunners have been working without Emile Smith Rowe for the past two months due to a groin problem, but the 22-year-old's recovery is coming along nicely, and he has travelled to Dubai with the team.
Smith Rowe is pushing for a return to action in the New Year, and should he rediscover the form that made him a weekly starter to begin with, Arteta will be left with a big decision to make regarding Gabriel Martinelli.
At a time when Arsenal are pulling out all the stops to tie the Brazilian youngster down to a new contract, Martinelli has taken advantage of Smith Rowe's absence to nail down the left-wing spot and come up with five goals and two assists in 14 Premier League games.
The most recent of those efforts came in the 5-0 thumping of Nottingham Forest, where he displayed several key qualities of a number nine with that diving header - the bravery, the accuracy, and movement that Edinson Cavani would have been proud of.
Of course, Martinelli thrives in the wide areas and gave Cameroon a torrid time on the left wing in his first World Cup start last week, but should he continue to improve his end product, there is no reason why the 21-year-old could not fill Jesus's boots at the tip of the attack.
Furthermore, with rumours still circulating around a possible January move for Mykhaylo Mudryk - who would provide cover for Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka out wide - Martinelli's immediate future at the Emirates could be in a central role as contract talks rumble on in the background.
body check tags ::
