Arsenal have been dealt a devastating injury blow concerning Gabriel Jesus.

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In a statement posted on the club website, Arsenal confirmed that, despite earlier reports suggesting that the injury the centre-forward picked up in action for Brazil on Friday would only keep the 25-year-old sidelined for three weeks, the striker has now undergone surgery on his knee - meaning he will now be ruled out of action for around three months.

In their statement, the club wrote: "Gabriel Jesus has successfully undergone surgery to his right knee after suffering an injury during the Brazil vs Cameroon World Cup group stage match on Friday. Gabby will now begin his rehabilitation programme. Everyone at the club is supporting Gabby and will be working hard to get him back on the pitch as soon as possible."

Arteta will be devastated

Considering just how crucial Jesus has been in Arsenal's title charge so far this season, the confirmation that the Brazilian is now set for an extended spell on the treatment table will have undoubtedly come as a devastating blow to Mikel Arteta and his side.

Indeed, over his 14 Premier League fixtures in the current campaign, the £103m-rated hitman has been in breathtaking form, having bagged five goals, provided five assists and created five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 3.6 shots - 1.1 of which have been on target - making 1.6 key passes and completing 1.9 dribbles per game.

These metrics have seen the £265k-per-week talent average a simply sensational Sofascore match rating of 7.11, not only ranking him as Arteta's seventh-best performer in the league but also as the joint 49th-best player in the top flight as a whole.

Furthermore, with the Gunners' third-choice centre-forward, Khayon Edwards, also revealing that he too has undergone surgery as a result of injury in the last week, Arteta has now been left with only Eddie Nketiah as an out-and-out option at centre-forward in his first-team squad.

And, with Nketiah having scored no goals over his 12 Premier League appearances so far this season, in addition to the 23-year-old averaging a disappointing Sofascore match rating of just 6.57 - ranking him as Arsenal's second-worst performer in the league - it is evident that step down from Jesus to the former England U21 international is a very steep one indeed.

As such, the confirmation that Jesus is set to spend three months on the sidelines is undeniably a colossal blow to the Gunners' title chances this season, with it now appearing an absolute must for Arteta to strengthen his centre-forward options in the January transfer window if Arsenal are to have any chance of beating Manchester City to the top flight crown come next May.