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LONDON -- Gabriel Jesus will miss the start of the Premier League season after undergoing a minor surgical procedure on a knee injury that will sideline him for several weeks. The Brazil striker missed Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Monaco in the Emirates Cup preseason friendly on Wednesday and will be unavailable for both the Community Shield and the Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest on August 12.

Jesus missed three months of last season with a knee issue and Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta confirmed that the operation was related to an "irritation" from the previous intervention.  

"Unfortunately he had a little procedure this morning," Arteta said after Arsenal's penalty shootout win at the Emirates Stadium. "He's had some discomfort in his knee that caused him some issues so they had to go in and resolve it. It's not something major but he's going to be out for a few weeks I think.

"It's a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially with the way he played against Barcelona [in a 5-3 friendly win in Los Angeles] and he was in good condition but unfortunately we lost him. We had to look at it and we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible. We decided to do it.

"It's something related to the previous injury he had and the surgery. He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved."

Arteta is not short of options to plug the gap left by his No. 9. Eddie Nketiah, named captain for the day in Arsenal's penultimate match before the season began, scored the Gunners' equalizer just before halftime, canceling out an opener from Youssouf Fofana. Leandro Trossard continued what has been a sparky preseason with a second-half appearance that saw him lead the line on occasion while summer signing Kai Havertz could also function as a center forward.

U.S. men's national team striker Folarin Balogun is another option though he is still expected to depart before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. Notably, Arteta said that "the plans with Flo don't change at all" in light of Jesus' injury. Balogun missed the friendly with a thigh issue.

Oleksandr Zinchenko was also unavailable due to the calf issue he has been carrying throughout preseason but Arteta says he is close to making a return. 

"I think he's going to start training with the team and hopefully we will have him back very soon," said the Arsenal boss. Bukayo Saka was also an unused substitute against Monaco due to an illness.