GABRIEL MAGALHAES WILL miss “weeks” of action after picking up an injury during international duty, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed on Friday.
The Brazil defender has been at the heart of the near-impregnable Gunners back line that has conceded just five goals in 11 Premier League matches.
But he suffered a thigh injury during Brazil’s 2-0 friendly win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
“Gabi is going to be out for weeks,” said Arteta, who added that the defender will have another scan next week.
Gabriel has formed a formidable central defensive partnership with William Saliba and is also a threat from set-pieces.
Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera are both in contention to deputise for Gabriel against Tottenham on Sunday but Arteta said it was not possible to find a like-for-like replacement.
“Every player brings specific qualities and Gabi’s is his leadership, his presence and that love that he has to defend, and to transmit, as well, his body language to other players,” said the Spaniard.
“We have to do it and we have to spread that. People will step up, we’ve done it in the past, many, many times, unfortunately.
“We played last year, the biggest and most prominent part of the season without him as well, and the team was able to cope with that.”
Left-back Riccardo Calafiori — another pivotal player in Arsenal’s defence — missed the recent international break with Italy.
“He’s been carrying a few things and we had to bring him back,” said Arteta. “He hasn’t trained yet. Tomorrow we have another training session and we’ll see how he is.”
Arsenal, who host Tottenham on Sunday, are four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after they drew 2-2 with Sunderland earlier this month, ending a streak of eight wins in all competitions with no goals conceded.
The Gunners have an eye-catching record against their London rivals — losing just once in the league at home to Tottenham since 1993.
But Spurs travel to the Emirates boasting the best away record in the league this season — with four wins and a draw from five games.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s Benjamin Sesko will be out of action “for a few weeks” after injuring his knee before the international break, manager Ruben Amorim said on Friday.
Forward Sesko, who joined United from RB Leipzig in August, was injured during the 2-2 draw at Tottenham on 8 November, failing to finish the match after coming on as a second-half substitute.
The 22-year-old, who has scored just two Premier League goals this season, did not play in Slovenia’s World Cup qualifiers.
“He is going to stay out for a few weeks, I don’t know how long, but it is not that serious,” Amorim said at his pre-match press conference for Monday’s visit of Everton.
United will also be without Harry Maguire at Old Trafford after the centre-back picked up an injury in the Spurs draw.
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