Mikel Arteta has confirmed that key defender Gabriel has been ruled out ‘for weeks’ in a crucial injury blow for Arsenal ahead of Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham.
The 27-year-old, an ever-present this season in a Gunners side who have conceded just five Premier League goals, suffered a thigh injury on international duty for Brazil against Senegal at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium last weekend.
He will now have a scan on Wednesday – the day Arsenal take on Bayern Munich in the Champions League – to assess the severity of the injury.
‘Gabriel, unfortunately, picked up an injury with the Brazilian national team and he’s going to be out for weeks,’ said Arteta.
‘We need to have another scan – I think it’s next Wednesday – and we’ll have the timeline probably much more clear than we have at the moment.’
Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera are both in contention to deputise for Gabriel against Spurs.
Arsenal defender Gabriel (left) will be missing for a number of ‘weeks,’ Mikel Arteta (right) has revealed
The defender suffered a thigh injury on international duty for Brazil against Senegal last weekend
‘It’s clearly a blow because he’s our leader in our backline and to me it’s never a positive thing,’ added Arteta.
‘The good thing is that we have very good options and people have to stand up now and do the job.’
Viktor Gyokores, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and captain Martin Odegaard have all been sidelined lately, but Arteta hopes to have positive news about at least a couple of them ahead of Sunday.
The Spaniard said: ‘We put a lot of energy during the international break with all the medical staff to try to bring them back as quickly as possible.
‘So tomorrow we have another training session to see how some of them are feeling, whether it’s a bit too close to bring him in this game or we feel that they can have a contribution in the game. Tomorrow we’ll have more clarity.’
