Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus is hopeful of being fit for the Gunners’ Premier League match against Crystal Palace on August 21, GoonerNews.com understands.

26-year-old Jesus recently underwent minor knee surgery related to a problem he had last season, ruling him out of the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season.

Jesus didn’t play in Wednesday’s pre-season victory against Monaco with manager Mikel Arteta confirming after that the Brazil star would be out for “a few weeks.”

“It’s a big blow because we had him back to his best,” said Mikel Arteta.

“Unfortunately he had a little procedure this morning. He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved. It’s not major but he will be out for a few weeks I think,” Arteta said.

“We had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and to get him back as quickly as possible, so we decided to do it.”

Arteta’s side face Manchester in the Community Shield at the weekend, before coming up against Nottingham Forest on 12 August.