Arsenal make brutal Gabriel Jesus decision for Champions League squad after learning true extent of Cristhian Mosquera injury

The former Manchester City man sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury in his left knee back in January and he has not played for Mikel Arteta's team since. The 28-year-old featured in a behind-closed-doors match late last month, prompting manager Mikel Arteta to deliver an optimistic view on his condition.

"Very good. He's doing everything with the team at the moment for the last almost two weeks. We're going to give him some exposure as well internally with some games, so he gets that fitness. But he looks really good in training, and he's going to be a big addition to the team," he said.

Then, last week, he played for the Gunners' under-21s as he steps up his comeback. It is not yet certain when he will play for Arsenal's first team again but it is likely to be in the coming weeks. However, it appears he won't be involved with their Champions League campaign for the time being.

During Arsenal's 2-0 win over Brentford last week, centre-back Mosquera picked up an ankle injury, meaning he joins fellow defenders Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba on the sidelines. 

After that game, Arteta said on the summer signing: "He’s going to be out for weeks. Unfortunately, it’s much more than what we expected, the way he was feeling. So, he’s going to be out for weeks."

He was absent for Arsenal's 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, with right-back Jurrien Timber partnering Piero Hincapie at the heart of the Gunners' defence. Now, according to Football London journalist Tom Canton, Mosquera's injury is worse than first hoped. As a result, Jesus will not be registered for the league phase of the Champions League but he could feature if they make it to the knockout rounds. Canton previously noted that a UEFA rule change allowed clubs to submit a temporary replacement of an outfield player who is ruled out for an extended period of time with a long-term injury or illness, but this is only applicable up until the sixth matchday, which was Arsenal's trip to Club Brugge on Wednesday. But it appears Arsenal have opted against registering Jesus for this upcoming fixture.

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On top of Arsenal's mounting injury list, particularly in defence, Arteta's side suffered an agonising stoppage-time loss to Villa on Saturday. Naturally, the Spaniard admitted this defeat was hard to take.

He told BBC Match of the Day: "Very painful, especially after all the effort in the match. It was an open game. Congratulations to Aston Villa, they are a really good side. We conceded a big chance in the first half with Matty Cash's goal. We had some dominance in the second half. I had the feeling we were going to win the game, so to lose it in the manner we did is painful. Eighteen games unbeaten, you lose a game and that's what it is - this is football. It is what it is. We had a big chance when Declan [Rice] put the ball across for Noni [Madueke], they then won a throw-in at the other end and got the goal. That's football and the quality of this league."

The north London team, who are top of the table in Europe's elite competition, face Club Brugge, Inter Milan and Kairat in their remaining Champions League group phase games. Sandwiched in between those fixtures are Premier League matches against Wolves, Everton, Crystal Palace, Brighton, Villa, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.

Ahead of the next contest, Arteta added: "The level of consistency the boys have shown in this period is incredible, so I only have thoughts to think we can do it again."