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Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

Gabriel Jesus 'spotted' and wonderkid called up to Arsenal training ahead of Bournemouth clash

Arsenal's preparations for Saturday's clash against Bournemouth are complete as Mikel Arteta's side aim to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

It's safe to say the Gunners are over the mini-blip that saw them slip to second in the table at one stage last month after losing to Everton and Manchester City, as well as being held to a 1-1 draw - in controversial circumstances many can argue - at home to Brentford.

Since then, the north London outfit have beaten Aston Villa and Leicester City in successive away games before gaining a measure of revenge over the Toffees by cruising to a 4-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night with Gabriel Martinelli helping himself to a brace.

READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Eddie Nketiah injury, Gabriel Jesus Arsenal return and Zinchenko

As a result, Arsenal go into this weekend's round of Premier League with a five-point advantage over Man City - who are in the early kick-off slot at home to top-four chasing Newcastle United - and will be heavy favourites to record a fourth straight win when Bournemouth visit the capital.

And ahead of the game in N5, Arteta and his coaching staff put the first-team squad - and a few youngsters - through their paces during a training session at London Colney on Friday afternoon and below is what football.london noticed from the footage that has been released by the club's official photographer.

No Eddie

In the pre-match press conference, it was revealed that Eddie Nketiah is suffering with an ankle injury which means he is a doubt to face Bournemouth. And whilst the problem isn't thought to be too serious, the Gunners manager has admitted that he cannot be entirely sure whether its a long-term one.

"We are assessing him," Arteta told reporters. "It's a bit uncertain what will happen with him to be honest in the training sessions. Let’s see, let’s keep the options open. He’s very positive about it and hopefully he’ll be fine."

The fact that Nketiah wasn't seen in Friday's session could mean that he will play no part against the Cherries. Having said that, William Saliba, Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko are just three examples of players not being spotted in training only to be named in the matchday squad the following day.

Jesus spotted?

Speaking of Arsenal strikers, Gabriel Jesus is closing in on a return following knee surgery and football.london understands the club are hopeful of having him back in the squad before the international break, with four fixtures after Saturday's game pencilled in before the season pauses.

Interestingly, Arteta confirmed that the Brazilian hasn't started contact training just yet, but was the 25-year-old involved in Friday's session? Well, despite the club photographer's best attempts, one supporter, in particular, took to social media to speculate about the picture below.

@Ghenedinho said: "I saw Gabriel Jesus pic in training with the boys today but the admin guy cropped it out."

Of course, there is excitement with regard to when Jesus is available for selection again and whilst Saturday's clash comes too soon, it shouldn't be too long: "He’s not far now. I don’t want to give a timeline, but he’s doing certain things with the team and certain things outside the team still," Arteta admitted.

"He’s not very close, but he’s not very far. He’s feeling better every day and the doctors are feeling confident with how he’s evolving. We are in a good place with him, I think."

What pressure?

If there is any sort of anxiety in the Arsenal squad about being in a Premier League title race, it's certainly not showing, as they all appeared to be in a relaxed mood ahead of the Bournemouth fixture. Bukayo Saka looked overjoyed as he grabbed a piggyback off Gabriel Magalhaes, whilst January signing Jakub Kiwior experienced the same with Granit Xhaka.

Arteta did say that recent results have changed things, and it seems his squad are relishing the task ahead. "Really important. It gives you momentum, it gives you confidence, it puts you in a much better position on the table which is the most important at the end," he told reporters. "The team is in a really good place and looking forward to the game tomorrow."

Youngster called up

A regular feature in Arsenal training sessions ever since Arteta was appointed are the youngsters that are involved. On occasions this season, the likes of Ethan Nwaneri, Lino Sousa, Matt Smith, Reuell Walters, Taylor Foran and Bradley Ibrahim have all earned call-ups.

But ahead of the game against Bournemouth, not too many of the club's brightest prospects were present for the session. In fact, only Amario Cozier-Duberry was spotted and he was tasked with keeping tabs on the likes of Thomas Partey and Jorginho.

READ NEXT:

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