Arsenal's quest for Premier League glory resumes later today, and Mikel Arteta has an interesting conundrum on his hands.
His side has seemed unstoppable this season, and although Manchester City boast a game in hand the eight-point gap that separates them is a daunting one.
Pep Guardiola has overseen bigger comeback stories, but with the form of the Gunners, it is hard to look past them as comfortable favourites.
Not only this, but the international break has afforded additional recuperation time for some of their injured assets; namely Emile Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Jesus.
Both had been stepping up their respective recoveries and were seeking a return to the first team, but the need for the latter remains far more imperative.
During Arsenal's comfortable win over Crystal Palace, Arteta started the game without a recognised striker leading the frontline, so adding him back into the fold could be that extra spark needed to push them over the line.
Today’s clash with Leeds United marks a fine opportunity to conclude their return to full fitness, with the Brazilian dynamo starting from the off.
Is Gabriel Jesus fit?
Having entered the World Cup in blistering form, with five goals and six assists in 14 league matches, it was devastating to see him forced off in Brazil’s 1-0 loss to Cameroon.
What compounded their misery was the subsequent knee surgery he would undergo, which has seen him ruled out ever since.
Before that mid-season hiatus, many were mentioning Jesus within the conversation for being the signing of the season.
Sky Sports pundit Sue Smith even noted: “Jesus might not be scoring but look how influential he is. And I think bringing him in and Zinchenko to a degree, it’s that winning mentality.”
To further exacerbate what a boost his return is, the fact that he could start against the Whites is ironic given his last league goal for Manchester City came against them, with Guardiola's side running rampant in a 4-0 victory.
Jesus, as per Sofascore, offered more than just a goal threat too, having recorded a match-high 8.3 rating on top of three successful dribbles, a whopping five key passes (more than Phil Foden or any other City star) and nine duels won.
There will be hope that he can repeat such a feat, on a day when he terrorised the Yorkshire outfit.
His re-emergence for the run-in comes at the perfect time, and the experience of the £60m-rated marksman in closing out title wins is vast. The 5 foot 9 marksman already has four league titles to his name, with journalist Alex Brotherton even crediting him as “the unsung hero of City's Premier League triumph” last year.
This late return could now see the former Citizen achieve the same success with Arsenal, once again firing a team to glory in the English top-flight.
