Liverpool’s title rivals dealt seismic injury blow which could force January transfer push | OneFootball

One of Liverpool’s main rivals in the Premier League title race have been hit by a major injury setback.

Arsenal’s miserable start to 2025, with no wins from three matches since the New Year’s Day triumph at Brentford, was compounded by the sight of Gabriel Jesus being stretchered off during the FA Cup third round clash against Manchester United on Sunday, which they lost on penalties.

The Gunners’ forward line had already been hampered by injuries to Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri, and it now looks as though the Brazil international won’t be returning for some time.

Arsenal dealt major injury blow

As per Sky Sports on Tuesday morning, Arsenal’s number 9 suffered a suspected ACL injury at the weekend, and Mikel Arteta has shared a sombre update on the 27-year-old.

The Gunners boss said of Jesus: “We know more now. It is not looking good at all. We need to review with one more specialist and will have better information this afternoon.

“I don’t want to confirm anything until we have the final report this afternoon. We were very worried after the game and we are very worried today.”

Arteta added that, with injuries ravaging his squad, Arsenal are ‘actively looking in the market’ in an acknowledgement that they may be forced to strengthen during the January transfer window.

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Jesus’ injury could hinder Arsenal’s hopes of reeling in Liverpool

Having scored five goals in two games against Crystal Palace just before Christmas and also netted in the aforementioned win over Brentford, Jesus’ ACL injury has come at a horrendous time for him and indeed for Arsenal amid the spate of other absentees.

The setback certainly won’t do their hopes of making up the six-point gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool (potentially nine points after tonight) any good, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Gunners pushing hard to try and bring players in while the transfer window is open this month.

Although there’s been an increasingly intensifying rivalry between supporters of those two clubs on social media, the Brazilian’s injury blow isn’t something that anyone of a Reds persuasion should mock.

We’ve had more than our fair share of misery in that regard in recent years, most notably when Virgil van Dijk’s 2020/21 season was written off by Jordan Pickford’s brutal challenge in the Merseyside derby, and a catalogue of injuries forced Jurgen Klopp to rely on academy youngsters in the Carabao Cup in last season’s Carabao Cup final.

While any dropped points for Arsenal in Jesus’ absence would enhance Liverpool’s chances of winning the Premier League, we never want to see players succumbing to a serious injury, and such misfortune shouldn’t be celebrated by rival fans. We wish Jesus as swift a recovery as possible after that major setback for him.