Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, with Mikel Arteta admitting he is “very worried” for the Brazilian.

Jesus was taken off on a stretcher during Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on Sunday and an ACL injury has been confirmed after seeing a specialist.

The serious knee injury will see the 27-year-old ruled out for a significant spell in the latest blow to the Gunners this season ahead of Wednesday’s north London derby.

While a timeline has not been provided, Jesus appears likely to miss the remainder of the campaign to add to Arteta’s issues. Bukayo Saka is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury while captain Martin Odegaard missed several months earlier this season with an ankle injury.

The club confirmed in a statement: “Further to being substituted with an injury during our match with Manchester United on Sunday, Gabriel Jesus has received extensive assessments, scans and specialist reviews which have confirmed that he has sustained an injury to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

“He will undergo surgery in the coming days and will soon begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme. We will continue to keep everyone updated with [his] recovery, with everyone at the club fully focused on supporting him to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible.”

Young forward Ethan Nwaneri is also currently sidelined as Arteta’s forward resources deplete.

“It’s not looking good at all, but we need to review with the specialist and will have more information this afternoon,” the Arsenal manager had earlier told a press conference on Tuesday. "We were very worried straight after the game and we are very worried today."

Arteta did not say whether Arsenal will look to sign another striker in the January transfer market and insisted the club remain open to options to strengthen the squad.

The Gunners have struggled to score goals in recent matches and Kai Havertz endured a difficult afternoon as Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup.

The Premier League title contenders have been linked with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak this month.

“My answer doesn’t change. We are actively looking into the market to improve the squad. We always have been and it would be naïve not too,” Arteta said

“We are looking and we are trying, so let’s see what we can do. To recruit a player there are three parties who have to agree to that. The fact I love my players doesn’t mean we can’t think about improving.

“We do daily and when the market comes around we have to make sure we have the best resources and capacity to compete the way that we want to.