The Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães is a doubt for next Sunday’s north London derby after picking up a thigh injury in Brazil’s friendly win against Senegal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Gabriel was withdrawn after 64 minutes of Brazil’s 2-0 victory, motioning to his manager, Carlo Ancelotti, that he had an issue with his upper thigh as he walked off the pitch.
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The Brazilian federation confirmed on Sunday that Gabriel underwent tests that “revealed a muscle injury in his right thigh” and that the centre-back will not travel with the team for Tuesday’s friendly against Tunisia in Lille, instead returning to his club for treatment.
Gabriel has played every minute of Arsenal’s Premier League campaign to date; they have conceded just five goals in 11 games and had kept eight consecutive clean sheets in all competitions before the 2-2 draw at Sunderland. A major threat from set pieces, Gabriel scored against Atlético Madrid and the last-minute winner at Newcastle.
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Arsenal return to action after the international break when they host Tottenham at the Emirates next Sunday. They are four points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table. Should Gabriel be unavailable against Spurs, Mikel Arteta has Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié among his options to partner William Saliba at centre-back.