On Wednesday morning, Mikel Arteta addressed the hamstring injury sustained by Gabriel in the 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday. Gabriel left the pitch after only 16 minutes, pulling up as he raced back to defend, and Jacob Kiwior replaced him.
Arteta was not upbeat about the injury and looked worried. With Bukayo Saka making his comeback and scoring the winner, this should have been a double celebration for the Gunners, but Gabriel’s injury took the gloss off a successful night.
As if losing Gabriel wasn’t bad enough, Dutch defender Justin Timber also picked up a knee injury. He suffered the injury in the first half and tried to play on, but Arteta had no choice but to pull him out, and now, there is fear in the dressing room and on the terraces that neither Gabriel nor Timber will be able to face Real Madrid in the crucial Champions League match.
Arteta said both players would be assessed on Wednesday, but he is worried that four of his players will be missing for the Real match: Gabriel, Timber, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori.
