Arsenal column: FA Cup disaster, Gabriel Jesus injury & big bid needed for Premier League star

FA Cup exit is a disaster for Arsenal, but could it free time for a much-needed Dubai trip?

Sunday’s FA Cup defeat against Manchester United was a complete disaster for Arsenal. It’s really tough to look at it any of the way.

In terms of the result, it was obviously hugely disappointing to get knocked out of the cup at home in the third round stage for the second successive season.

But it really does feel like the potential implications of the defeat make it even worse.

This was a game Mikel Arteta was clearly determined to win. With two huge Premier League fixtures to come on Wednesday night against Spurs and against Aston Villa on Saturday, Arsenal’s manager could have rotated far more than he did.

But aside from shaking things up a bit in midfield, he went as strong as he could go and the majority of those players had to put 120 energy sapping minutes into their legs.

And the ones who didn’t, limped off injured or – in Gabriel Jesus’ case – left the pitch on a stretcher and could well now be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.

Given the injury issues that are already hurting Arsenal, it was the worst case scenario and then the manner of how the defeat actually happened made things even more damaging.

You had players who were out of form and short of confidence missing huge chances to win the game in Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard and then you had the morale-crushing finale of exiting on penalties against a team who had played with 10 men for such a large period of the contest.

It really did feel like an immensely damaging night for Arsenal. One that could be incredibly difficult to bounce back from.

It was a big, big opportunity missed. The game should have been done and dusted inside 90 minutes. It should have been a comfortable win in normal time, but instead it ended up being a complete nightmare for the players and for Mikel Arteta.

Some will say that at least Arsenal will now have a break during the weekend of the fourth round fixtures and it wouldn’t surprise me if Arteta used that time to take the squad away to Dubai to recharge their batteries.

That warm weather training camp this time last year was massively beneficial and if logistics allow it, I’m sure Arteta will now push to do something similar.

That could be useful, but I’m still not seeing any positives from what happened on Sunday.

It was an awful, awful day for Arsenal. One that could have consequences that stretch well into the coming weeks and months.

Gabriel Jesus injury surely means Arsenal can’t ignore this window

If Arsenal don’t dip into the transfer market on the back of Gabriel Jesus’ injury then it would be madness.

With Bukayo Saka out they needed to do it anyway, but now Jesus is facing up to a long spell on the sidelines, the need to act is amplified further.

We don’t yet know the full extent of Jesus’ injury. He is having a scan today, but the fear is that the knee injury he suffered against United is a very serious one.

If those fears are realised, the likelihood is that we won’t see him again this season. So it would be bordering on negligence if Arsenal didn’t move swiftly to reinforce their attack.

They may be out of the FA Cup and on the brink of exiting the Carabao Cup, but there is still a lot to play for this season.

They may be playing catch-up to Liverpool in the Premier League, but the gap is not insurmountable with so many games still to play and they are well placed to book a route straight through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

So there is still a chance to do something big this season, but they won’t be able to do that without additions in attacking areas this month.

It’s clear that they need more and that the players that are already there need help. They look like they are running on fumes right now. Confidence is shot, but they can’t be taken out of the firing line because there is just no-one else Arteta can call on.

So the club needs to act and failure to do so would basically be waving the white flag for the remainder of the season in my opinion.

I know it will be tough and the market is difficult in January. But you can’t tell me that there is no-one out there who could come in and make a big difference. It might mean overpaying, but sometimes you just have to do that to give yourself the best chance of success.

It was ironic that Benjamin Sesko, the striker Arsenal really wanted in the summer, scored an absolute stunner for Leipzig at the same time that Mikel Arteta’s side were struggling to find the target against United on Sunday.

I would be surprised if Arsenal were to go back for Sesko this month, just because it was made very clear last summer that he wanted to stay in Germany for at least another season.

That does feel like a deal that would have to wait until the end of the campaign, should Arsenal opt to rekindle their interest in the Slovenia international.

Bryan Mbeumo to Arsenal would be a signing worth overpaying for

Bryan Mbeumo is a fine player enjoying another excellent season for Brentford.

Arsenal are believed to be one of a few top clubs keeping an eye on his progress, but Brentford would be very reluctant to let him go half way through the season.

It would take big, big money to get him out of west London this month.

I do think he would be an excellent fit at Arsenal though and if there was a chance to sign him this month, he would be a player that it would be worth overpaying slightly for.

He knows the Premier League so would be ready to hit the ground running straight away and would be able to slot straight into the hole on the right side of the attack that has been left vacant by the injured Bukayo Saka.

When you sign someone in January you really want them to be able to come in and make an impact straight away and that’s what Mbeumo could do.

There would be no acclimatisation period and he would be arriving full of confidence, given the goals he has scored this season.

I think it would be a fantastic January signing.

Jorrel Hato has been on Arsenal’s radar but they have other priorities now

I can’t see Arsenal doing any business defensively this window.

Even with the injuries they have to key players at the back, they still have plenty of options. Just look at the number of defenders they have on the bench at the moment.

We know they have had an interest in Jorrel Hato in the past. He’s a very talented young defender at Ajax who does look destined for a big move to a top European club in the near future.

But I don’t see that being Arsenal, certainly not this month anyway. Maybe in the summer, if a few players move on, it could be one they look to revisit.