Mikel Arteta revealed Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori were not risked against Manchester United
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori both have a chance of featuring against Fulham on Sunday after missing their 2-0 win over Manchester United.
The Gunners secured a huge victory against a revitalised United team managed by Ruben Amorim at the Emirates on Wednesday evening thanks to goals from defenders Jurrien Timber and William Saliba, which both came from set-pieces.
And with defenders starring in Arsenal's crucial win, the team didn't feel the absences of Gabriel and Calafiori, who were not risked against United after suffering knocks in the 5-2 win at West Ham last week.
Arsenal fans might have been concerned after two of their key defenders pulled out of such an important game, but Arteta has allayed any fears and said he simply didn't want to exacerbate their minor injuries.
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"With Gabi, it would've been a big risk to play him today because he felt something against West Ham," he said after the game. "Sunday is a possibility, same with Ricci [Calafiori] as well."
With Gabriel and Calafiori both missing, Jakub Kiwior filled in at centre-back while Oleksandr Zinchenko played at left-back as both helped register a clean sheet. Arteta heaped praise on the duo and said he trusted them despite both players not starting a game for Arsenal in some time.
"Big credit to Jakub and Alex," he said. "It's the first start for Jakub after a long time. You have to be strong against this kind of opposition and front players. The same as Alex and they did magnificently well. Great. We trust them.
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"They prepared so well, they had the opportunity, they grabbed it with both hands, so happy for the team."
The Gunners, who are now up to third in the Premier League, earned credit for scoring two more goals from corners against United. They've now netted 22 times from corners since the start of last season.
Arteta was asked if teams were afraid to concede corners against the Gunners because of how dangerous they are from the dead ball situation.
"I don't know," he replied. "We work on what we work. Attacking the box in various ways. This a way we attack the box and we are very efficient. We will find ways to keep improving.
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