Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus will undergo a scan for a “minor” groin injury that kept him out of the win against Aston Villa

Mikel Arteta says striker Gabriel Jesus will undergo an MRI scan to determine the severity of a groin injury described by Arsenal as “minor”.

Due to the injury, the 27-year-old striker missed his team's 2-0 win against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Initial indications are that this is not a serious injury and Jesus is only expected to be out for a relatively short time. This is also likely because there is an international break next Saturday following Arsenal's home game against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Arsenal then travel to Tottenham Hotspur on September 15 and Manchester City seven days later; both teams are starting their Champions League season.

After the win at Villa Park, Arteta said: “Unfortunately he felt something in his groin at the end of the training session on Thursday. We will have to examine him when he has had an MRI scan to see (the extent of it) but he was unavailable for the game.”

“We have to wait and see (if it is a long-term injury). We will probably have the results tomorrow or Monday and see if it is a matter of days or weeks.”

Jesus came off the bench late in the win against Wolverhampton Wanderers last Saturday.

The Brazilian international's playing time was limited in the 2023/24 season due to physical problems and the development of Kai Havertz as coach Mikel Arteta's preferred attacking position.

Jesus finished the season with eight goals in 36 appearances in all competitions.

Fellow striker Eddie Nketiah is close to moving to Nottingham Forest. The athlete reported on Wednesday that Forest were close to agreeing a transfer fee for the 25-year-old, who was already courted by Marseille earlier this summer. Nketiah was on the bench against Wolves and did not play.

Asked about Nketiah's future, Arteta said: “At the moment, Eddie is our player. He is very committed to us. Regardless of the noise, he is here and he wants to be here with us. He is really happy that we won the game.”

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