Arsenal defender Gabriel looked distraught when he was forced off with a hamstring injury against Fulham last night.Arsenal defender Gabriel looked distraught when he was forced off with a hamstring injury against Fulham last night.
Arsenal defender Gabriel looked distraught when he was forced off with a hamstring injury against Fulham last night. | Getty Images
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is staring down the barrel of a defensive nightmare - days before playing European giants Real Madrid.
In last night’s (April 1) Premier League clash with Fulham, Brazilian defender Gabriel began clutching his leg as he pulled up with a hamstring injury. He then signaled to the club’s medics for help before being substituted off.
The situation worsened in the second half when fellow defender Jurrien Timber also went down, with Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard respectively replacing the pair. It brings Arsenal’s defensive injury list to five players, with Ben White, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu also sidelined.
Speaking after the game, which Arsenal eventually won 2-1, Arteta said: “We don’t know how they're going to be. We will be assessing them tomorrow.
Arsenal defender Gabriel looked distraught when he was forced off with a hamstring injury against Fulham last night.Arsenal defender Gabriel looked distraught when he was forced off with a hamstring injury against Fulham last night.
Arsenal defender Gabriel looked distraught when he was forced off with a hamstring injury against Fulham last night. | Getty Images
“Gabi felt something in his hamstring. We don’t know how big that is. With Jurrien he was already struggling early. He couldn’t continue.”
Teammate Declan Rice added: “I don't know what's happened, I hope he's okay because he's been arguably our best player this season and we need him for big matches and big occasions.”
That “big occasion” is literally right around the corner, with the Gunners hosting Spanish giants Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals next Tuesday (April 8). Against Los Blancos, Kiwior will likely have to partner William Saliba at centre-back.
Arteta also has both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kieran Tierney available - but both of them are natural left-backs; either one will have to play out of position, or Arteta will have to bring Trossard back into the defence again.
While Bukayo Saka’s return is a welcome boost for Arsenal, they are also still without Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus upfront. Midfielder Mikel Merino has been plugging the centre-forward gap, but that solution can surely only take them so far.
Either way, the Gunners will be facing a full-strength Madrid attack, with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham firing on all cylinders at the moment.
Arteta is a shrewd manager and fully capable of grinding out a result, but if the floodgates open at the Emirates then this Champions League tie could become a bloodbath.