Arsenal have registered Gabriel Jesus in their Champions League squad ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Club Brugge, giving Mikel Arteta another forward option as the team look to secure a top-eight finish in the league phase.
The Brazilian replaces Max Dowman on the UEFA A List after the 15-year-old sustained an ankle injury while playing for the Under-21s at the weekend.
Dowman, who became the youngest player ever to appear in the Champions League when he featured against Slavia Prague in November, will now be unavailable for UEFA competitions for the next 60 days under the tournament’s updated long-term injury rules.
He will return to the B List in January but cannot feature again until early February.
Jesus’ inclusion signals Arsenal’s confidence in his fitness after nearly a year out with an ACL injury that kept him sidelined since January.
He returned to full training in November and has taken part in two behind-closed-doors matches, one against Manchester United’s Under-21s and another understood to have been arranged with Watford.
He was also named on the bench for the Premier League matches against Chelsea and Brentford, even though he did not get on the pitch, but he was omitted from the squad at Villa Park with Leandro Trossard returning from injury.
Arteta has said repeatedly that Arsenal will manage Jesus’ return with caution, stressing that the striker needs to build rhythm, cope with increasing training loads and re-establish his match chemistry after eleven months out.
His availability now gives Arsenal a welcome boost as they approach a busy December schedule.
Arsenal have opted not to replace Cristhian Mosquera, who is also injured, and hope the defender may be available again later in the league phase.
Jesus is therefore the only swap made under the UEFA medical exemption rule.
His registration comes at a crucial time, with the Gunners needing one more win to confirm a top-eight finish and progress directly to the round of 16.
Jesus’ presence gives the manager another option in an attacking unit that has carried the workload through a relentless run of matches.
Arsenal will look to secure qualification with authority, and the return of a senior forward offers timely reinforcement as the team push to regain momentum in Europe.