Man City advantage over Arsenal in Premier League title race is about to become clear – Manchester Evening News

Arsenal’s Gabriel Jesus is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury playing for Brazil at the World Cup.
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It remains unclear just how players and clubs will react once domestic football returns after the World Cup but the worst fear was always obvious. Injuries.
Injuries are an inherent risk in any international break but they have become amplified due to the tournament coming in the middle of the season and its truncated nature giving players even less time to recover after every match. Fatigue is inevitable and that only increases the likelihood of injuries, especially in such intense matches.
Manchester City have the vast majority of their senior squad out in Qatar representing their nations but *touch wood* they have been fortunate so far on that front. None of their 16 players have picked up an injury as of yet, in fact, Kyle Walker has actually returned to action following his time on the sidelines due to a groin problem. The same can't be said for Arsenal.
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Former Blue Gabriel Jesus has been excellent for the Gunners this season but found himself behind Richarlison in the Brazil pecking order at the World Cup. He started their final group game against Cameroon as Tite made widespread changes to his side and he sadly picked up a right knee injury which has ended his tournament early.
"Players Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus underwent tests on Saturday morning accompanied by Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar and a MRI on their right knees confirmed the extent of the injuries and the impossibility of recovery in time to participate in the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022," the Brazil football federation said in a statement.
It's reported that the injury will require surgery and will see Jesus sidelined for three months, keeping him out of action until March at the earliest. That is a crushing blow for Arsenal. Though he hasn't been scoring freely, with five strikes to his name, Jesus has played a significant role in Mikel Arteta's side as the linchpin of an exciting and dynamic attack that has fired them five points clear at the top of the table.
Should Jesus be sidelined until March then he is set to miss several vital Premier League fixtures in the title race including West Ham, Brighton, Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester United, Leicester City and at least one of the game's against City, with the other still yet to be rescheduled.
That is a massive chunk of the season to be without your main striker, especially when Eddie Nketiah is your only alternative. The January market offers the chance to sign a replacement but there's no guarantee that a signing will work. It's suddenly really worrying for the North London club.
Just the one unfortunate injury has struck fear into their supporters and it has highlighted one of the key advantages City have over their new title rivals. City may have a small squad, even smaller than Arsenal's, but they have so much more strength in depth and versatility to cope with injuries.
We have seen in several successful title races at this point how the Blues have been able to deal with injury crises in key positions – such as left-back and last season at centre-back – as Pep Guardiola has assembled a flexible squad in which nearly every player is capable of filling in at different positions if needed. Add that to the remarkable quality of most of his players, it means it is never panic stations when a crucial player is injured. The 2018/19 title was won without Kevin De Bruyne for a large chunk of it, as an example.
Arsenal have no such luxury. While Arteta has made a really strong starting XI, he still isn't blessed with a whole lot of options at this stage of his project. Arsenal have been fortunate not to suffer any injuries to key players up until this point but there was always the feeling that if one brick toppled over then the whole building would fall down.
There is still plenty of football to go in the World Cup and potential for injuries to either side but Arsenal have already been dealt a stinging loss that is certainly going to test them when domestic football returns. If they can continue their fine form without Jesus then they will truly have the makings of champions but City's superior strength seems more likely to shine through.
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