3 Arsenal players to watch in pre-season

2. Gabriel Jesus

For some players, pre-season brings a chance to carry on their momentum from the previous campaign, or is a formality, with their place in the team already secured. For Gabriel Jesus, though, this pre-season is the definition of 'now or never'.

The striker has suffered from injuries on and off since his arrival at the club two years ago, and poor form saw him lose his place in the starting lineup to Kai Havertz at the back end of last season - with no suggestion that the Brazilian will automatically reassume the role next season.

The 27-year-old scored just four goals in 27 appearances last season and, despite also registering five assists, this form is clearly not what you would expect from the striker of a UEFA Champions League club.

It is essential for Jesus' future at the club that he enjoys a strong pre-season, and his exclusion from the Copa America gives him the perfect platform to hit the ground running when training resumes.

Havertz has been a solid, and different option, up front for Arsenal, but is far from immovable - which could allow a path for Jesus to return to the starting lineup, but only if he is exceptional and reliable in pre-season.

On the contrary, another season on the bench could well spell the end for the Brazilian's time at Arsenal, which makes the upcoming pre-season even more important for him.

Continued on the next slide...