Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says it would have been a “big risk” to play Gabriel against Manchester United, but he hopes the Brazilian and fellow defender Riccardo Calafiori are back for Sunday’s trip to Fulham.
Calafiori and Gabriel were both left out of the Arsenal squad for their 2-0 win over Manchester United at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.
Gabriel has been struggling with an issue and was forced off during the Gunners’ wins over Sporting and West Ham last week.
Calafiori, who has recently returned from a knee injury, was also forced off before the hour mark at West Ham last weekend.
Arsenal are next in action on Sunday, when they head to Fulham, and Arteta hopes he may welcome the pair back then.
“Gabi was a big risk to play today [against Manchester United] because he felt something against West Ham,” said Arteta. |Sunday is going to be a possibility with Riccardo as well, let’s see how he reacts.”
In Calafiori and Gabriel’s absences, Arteta turned to Jakub Kiwior and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Jakub Kiwior was among those who stepped up for Arsenal
Arsenal FC via Getty Images
The pair helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet and meant they closed the gap on Premier League leaders to Liverpool to seven points.
“Big credit to Jakub and Alex, I think it’s the first start for Jakub after a long time, you have to be thrown against this kind of opposition this kind of front players,” said Arteta.
“The same with Alex, they did magnificently well so great. We trust them, they prepared so well, they had the opportunity and they grabbed it with both hands so very pleased for the team.
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“We want to have the right to win the games and if we perform the way we perform right now, we are going to win a lot of games.
“But now it is about Fulham, we have to go there and we know the experience of last season. We’re going to have to prepare really well to earn the right to win there and continue to do that, the rest we don’t know.”