Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes will miss the North London Derby against Tottenham after picking up a muscle injury while on international duty with Brazil
14:16, 21 Nov 2025
Gabriel Magalhaes
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Gabriel Magalhaes picked up a muscle injury while on international duty
Mikel Arteta has issued an update on Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes ahead of Sunday's North London Derby against Tottenham.
The imperious centre-back was forced off in Brazil's 2-0 friendly win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday with a muscular problem.
Initial tests appeared to indicate he would be sidelined for at least one month but Arsenal medical staff are now awaiting to conduct further tests.
Arteta said on Friday: "Yeah Gabi unfortunately picked up an injury and he's going to be out for weeks. We need to have another scan next Wednesday and we will have the timeline much more clear."
The Spaniard also revealed Riccardo Calafiori was yet to train after withdrawing from international duty with Italy due to a hip problem.
The issue saw him sit out of the World Cup qualification win over Moldova and it was then decided there was no point rushing him back for the 4-1 defeat against Norway given Italy could no longer pinch top spot.
Arteta said on the left-back: "Yeah he wasn't available, he's been carrying a few things and we had to bring him back. He hasn't trained yet, we have a session tomorrow so we will see."
The Arsenal boss did also indicate other injured players could possible return against Tottenham, though he did not name names.
He continued: "We have put in a lot of energy to bring them back as quick as possible. Tomorrow we will have more clarity. I am hopeful that we will take another step tomorrow."
Arsenal's record with and without Gabriel in the Premier League since September 2020 makes for astonishing reading.
They've played 171 games with him in the side, winning 110 of those matches, drawing 27 and losing 34.
That's a win percentage of 64.3 per cent while they have won just 12 of the 30 matches they've played without him, drawing 10 and losing eight.
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When Gabriel is not available, Arsenal have won just 40 per cent of their matches. The Gunners have plenty of options where replacements are concerned.
Young Spaniard Cristhian Mosquera slotted in for William Saliba earlier in the season when the Frenchman rolled his ankle while Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie can also play at centre-back.
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