Gabriel Jesus would ideally start over Viktor Gyokeres in Arsenal's EFL Cup semi-final first leg with Chelsea, but the Brazilian's selection is not so simple, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole.
Mikel Arteta's men head to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night for the first act of their last-four showdown, in which they will endeavour to earn the right to meet Manchester City or Newcastle United in the Wembley showpiece.
Arsenal are also seeking back-to-back knockout wins after taking down Portsmouth 4-1 in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, thanks largely to Gabriel Martinelli's treble, although Gabriel Jesus also earned his keep.
The former Manchester City man teed up Martinelli's second goal from a quick free kick, while Viktor Gyokeres was restricted to a watching brief after a shambolic display vs. Liverpool - his fourth straight game without a goal or assist.
While Watts is keen to see Jesus from the first whistle again on Wednesday, he also wants to see the 28-year-old given the nod against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this weekend, giving Arteta a new dilemma to solve.
“Jesus was good against Portsmouth," Watts said. "He had a difficult first 20 minutes but then grew into it. Arsenal were much, much better when Jesus started to get into the game. The assist was brilliant, but it was some really nice stuff towards the end of the first half.
“He’s just so much more involved than Gyokeres. We all want Gyokeres to be a success - we all hoped he was going to be this guy who's going to score 20, 25 goals a season - but we're just not seeing any evidence that that's going to happen.
Mikel Arteta faces "really difficult" Viktor Gyokeres/Gabriel Jesus dilemma
“When he's on the pitch, he's just a passenger. He's not involved, not getting any touches. What's the point of him being on the pitch at times? Hopefully this is just a bad little spell, because he's getting worse. You’d hope as the season progresses, he adjusts and it would get better, but it's going the other way. And that's the worry.
“I want to say I want to see Jesus start, but if Jesus starts on Wednesday, that means Gyokeres starts on Saturday, and I want Jesus to start in the Premier League. It's a really difficult one to answer, but we're at a tipping point with Gyokeres.
“He's had to play loads because we haven't had any other options, but now the options are there and we have to be realistic. As much as it's frustrating that Gyokeres hasn't clicked into gear, Arsenal are going to be a bigger threat with Gabriel Jesus, because he's going to be more involved.”
Jesus memorably struck a hat-trick in last season's EFL Cup quarter-final win over Crystal Palace, before Arteta's men were humiliated over two legs by Newcastle United in the semi-finals, suffering a 4-0 aggregate beatdown.
The Magpies mauling comprises part of a worrying trend for Arsenal, who have now been knocked out of each of their last four semi-final ties across all competitions, most recently the 2024-25 Champions League.
The Gunners also fell at this stage in the 2024-25 and 2021-22 EFL Cup semis, as well as the 2020-21 Europa League, and they could only muster a 1-1 Premier League draw with 10-man Chelsea back in November.
Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Should Mikel Arteta accept a draw in first leg?
© Imago / Mark Pain
However, that stalemate extended Arsenal's unbeaten run against the Blues to eight matches, and Arteta's men should not turn their nose up to another draw before the return leg at home on February 3.
“You'd want to win, but if you get a draw away from home and come back to the Emirates level pegging, you're probably going to take that," Watts added. "But they'll certainly try to win.
“They weren't great in the game a few weeks ago, it was an opportunity missed given. Arsenal want to win this game and it would be very nice if you can get a 2-0, come back and ease the pressure in the second leg. But it's going to be a difficult game, it’s another new manager bounce situation – Rosenior’s first game at home.
“A good start, against Charlton, the crowd are going to be up for it. Arsenal are just going to have to deal with that. They went out in this stage of the competition last season – they were awful, especially in the second leg, but the first leg could have gone another way if they'd taken a chance.
“They'll want to put that right this time around, they won't want a similar situation. Hopefully they can feed off the pain of last season and put things right.”
Arsenal could head to Stamford Bridge with a ravaged defence once again, though, as Arteta issued a worrying sextuple injury update in Tuesday's pre-game press conference.
> Click here to view the full preview for Arsenal's clash with Chelsea, as well as reaction to Gabriel Martinelli's Conor Bradley shove and Portsmouth hat-trick