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mikel arteta indicated that he is ready to lend a hand gabriel jesus His first start in 345 days in Arsenal’s Carabao Cup quarter-final tie against Crystal Palace.
Arsenal will face Oliver Glasner’s team Emirates Stadium Arteta hopes to end his nearly six-year wait for a trophy in a contest on Tuesday.
Jesus scored a hat-trick in Arsenal’s last-eight win against Palace last season before losing to Newcastle in the semi-finals.
The Brazil international spent 11 months on the sidelines after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
But after three substitute appearances in Arsenal’s wins against Club Brugge, Wolves and Everton, Jesus could be fielded from the start against Palace, with Arteta ready to rotate a side that faces six fixtures in 20 days.
Chelsea await Arsenal in the last four if they can beat Palace.
“Yes, he is (ready to start), and you can tell,” said Arteta of the former Manchester City forward.
“Now you can see how much he wants, not only in games but every day in training, so he will soon deserve a chance.
“It’s been a really intense journey. When he joined us he lifted the confidence, spirit and energy of the team and he delivered something different from what we already had and that was very impressive.
“Then he had some very bad injuries and that prevented him from getting the consistency we needed from a very important player.
“He’s back and his fighting spirit, his desire to always prepare in the best way is incredible. The team is together now and we need to use that.”
Jesus could have taken his place Victor GyokresWho, despite scoring from the penalty spot in Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Everton on Saturday, has not found the back of the net from open play in his last six matches.
in midfield, Declan Rice His performances for Arsenal continue and Wayne Rooney has described him as the natural successor to Harry Kane as England captain.
Rooney watched Rice put in another brilliant performance against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium and – speaking on BBC’s The Wayne Rooney Show – the former England captain said: “I have to say, Declan Rice is incredible and it was a pleasure to see him (on Saturday).
“He was all over the pitch and making his decisions, when to pass it, where to pass it, which foot to pass it with, his details on his passes, he was absolutely incredible.
“Obviously Harry Kane is the captain, but he (Rice) is the future captain of England. He is the one who is probably waiting for Harry to retire at some point.
“Then he is the right person to take over because of his drive, his personality, it seems like everyone loves him, who knows him, who is close to him. He is irreplaceable for England.”