Following a 2-2 draw with Liverpool, Arsenal centre-back Gabriel is an injury doubt for this weekend.
Arsenal are currently third in the Premier League after picking up just one point from their last two games thanks to a defeat away to Bournemouth and a draw at home against Liverpool. This leaves them five points behind Manchester City just nine games into the season, with Premier League injuries starting to mount for everyone.
They face Newcastle away from home this Saturday, when Premier League action returns, following a midweek League Cup victory against Championship side Preston. Mikel Arteta will be hoping that Gabriel is fit to play against Newcastle, and the impressive Swedish striker Alexander Isak.
Is Gabriel injured for Arsenal this weekend?
Although Arsenal are yet to continue their outstanding defensive record from last season, having conceded in their last five games, centre-back Gabriel has scored against Tottenham and Manchester City.
Gabriel - who is ranked no6 in FourFourTwo's list of best centre-backs in the world - was forced off with an injury in the 54th minute against Liverpool, after attempting to play on. His side had been 2-1 when he left the pitch up but drew 2-2 following a late equaliser from Mohamed Salah.
Arsenal fans feared they had lost another defender to injury, having lost new signing Riccardo Calafiori to injury against Shakhtar Donetsk, but Mikel Arteta had a positive update on the defender.
Arteta said: “We are still assessing him. It doesn’t look bad at all. It was much better the next day. He has done some tests.”
Gabriel was unlikely to start against Preston in the League Cup anyway, but Arteta’s comments suggest that the Brazilian centre-back is unlikely to miss more than one game, and he may even be in line to slot back into the starting XI when Arsenal travel to Newcastle on Saturday.
With Jurrien Timber only just returning from injury, and also being substituted against Liverpool due to fatigue, Arteta may look to rest Timber, pushing Ben White to his more natural position of right-back.
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This would mean Gabriel could come in to partner the returning William Saliba, following the Frenchman’s suspension.
Given the ability of Newcastle’s frontline of Harvey Barnes, Isak and Anthony Gordon, Arsenal may have to start Gabriel sooner than they would have liked.
