Arsenal receive major injury boost ahead of Leicester clash

Mikel Arteta has had to make do without Thomas Partey for the last two fixtures against Man City and Aston Villa due to the Ghana International suffering a muscle injury last week. 

In the case of Gabriel Jesus, the Brazilian has not played for Arsenal since the Premier League resumed after the World Cup in Qatar where he sustained a knee injury while in action for Brazil.

Eddie Nketiah has stepped up in the absence of Jesus as Arsenal were unable to add another striker in the January window.

Although the winter acquisition of Jorginho has filled the void left by Partey's absence, the Ghanaian midfielder's return would be a welcome boost for Arteta as Arsenal prepare for a difficult test against Leicester this weekend.

Speaking in his press conference on Friday, Arteta provided an update on the fitness of both Partey and Jesus. He said:

 "Not a lot of changes [regarding injuries in the squad]. "The question mark on Thomas [Partey], he hasn’t trained much but looks like he could be available. Let’s see how he goes today, we’ve missed him in the past few games and hopefully, he’ll be back."

"As for Gabriel Jesus, he’s progressing well," Arteta said. "Doing more and more on the field, the knee is not reacting - so it’s positive. We want him back quickly but respect the timeline from the doctors."

The return of Jesus will boost Arsenal's Premier League title ambitions and afford Mikel Arteta the chance to rotate his forward line during a busy schedule.