Mikel Arteta has been dealt yet another injury blow as Arsenal gear up for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid next Tuesday
Arsenal are desperate to avoid a repeat of their disastrous form in the aftermath of William Saliba’s injury back in 2023. The Gunners held an eight point lead at the top of the Premier League heading into a Europa League quarter-final clash with Sporting on March 16 that year.
In that game, which Arsenal lost on penalties, star defender Saliba suffered a back injury. The issue ruled him out for the rest of the season and the Gunners duly collapsed. They won just five of their remaining 11 games to go from leading Manchester City by eight points to finishing five points behind Pep Guardiola’s men.
The loss of Saliba was the key factor behind that nosedive in form, with the Frenchman having formed a top-level central defensive partnership with Gabriel. While this season’s title race is all but done, Mikel Arteta’s eyes are on winning the Champions League.
The Gunners will face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, with the first leg being held at the Emirates on Tuesday. Arteta suffered a serious blow to his hopes of winning the competition when Gabriel went down with a hamstring injury during the midweek win over Fulham.
Arsenal have confirmed the Brazilian requires surgery and will now miss the rest of the season. The Gunners possess the best defensive record in the top-flight, though may now be concerned that Gabriel’s absence could negatively impact the rest of their campaign.
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There are some factors that may well ease those concerns though. Gabriel has already missed five games this season through injury, having suffered knee problems in October and December.
Arsenal were able to survive that run, while Jakub Kiwior stepped in to replace Gabriel on Tuesday, helping Arteta’s side to a 2-1 win over Fulham. And the Gunners boss is confident the Pole can adequately step up, while Declan Rice may well also be able to slot in.
“The good thing with Jakub is that he’s been very reliable. Every time we need him he’s always there, he’s available and he does his job. We ask him to play as a left centre-back, as a right centre-back, as a left full-back. He’s ready, he’s got a smile on his face,” Arteta said.
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“It’s sad for Gabi but he really wanted to play as well and he will be fine. If you ask the dressing room how much they want to play the next two games and the Real Madrid game, believe me, everybody wants to be on that pitch.
“The good thing is that it’s been like this the whole season. You see Martinelli today, you say we’re missing three months. You see Bukayo, four months. Jesus, almost the whole season. How we have managed to be where we are with all those injuries.
“You can imagine, we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week – Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien and Gabi Magalhaes. We have still another four, that are so willing that they will do their job.”
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