Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table last night with a convincing win over Chelsea.
The Gunners stormed into a 3-0 lead inside 34 minutes thanks to Martin Odegaard's brace and a Gabriel Jesus strike to end their run of four games without a win. Mikel Arteta's side will now be hoping West Ham can do them a favour this evening when they face Manchester City.
Despite the encouraging performance, there was another injury blow to contend with. Defender Gabriel Magalhaes was replaced after 85 minutes after requiring treatment on three different occasions. After the game, Arteta admitted he would be a doubt for Sunday's trip to Newcastle.
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Gabriel Magalhaes
Gabriel came off with five minutes remaining against Chelsea, with Rob Holding replacing him. The Brazilian looked to be holding his hamstring when TV cameras panned to him.
It is early days to rule him out of the trip to St James' Park, but should he miss the clash, it would mean the Gunners could be without their two preferred centre-backs.
What Arteta has said: "He tried for ten to fifteen minutes and he couldn't carry on. A big concern."
Expected return date: Unknown
William Saliba
Saliba limped off in Arsenal's exit from the Europa League against Sporting CP, suffering an issue with his back that forced the youngster to be substituted. The defender has missed the last few games and was absent yet again for the clash against Manchester City.
It remains to be seen whether Saliba will be in contention for the clash against Newcastle United at the weekend, with yesterday's match against Chelsea coming too soon for the Frenchman.
What Arteta has said: "He's not going to be involved tomorrow. We will have to wait until the next game to see where we are."
Expected return date: Unknown
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Takehiro Tomiyasu was substituted inside the first 10 minutes of the Gunners' clash against Sporting CP at the Emirates Stadium. The Japanese defender had overstretched for a tackle early in the match and had to receive treatment on the pitch shortly afterwards and was unable to continue.
An official club statement then read: "Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Now, Arteta has claimed that the versatile defender could be out for up to six months, meaning he would miss the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
What Arteta has said: "I don’t know, he’s an important player but I don’t know how to quantify," Arteta said when asked about how important Saliba's absence has been ahead of Tuesday's game with Chelsea.
"I don’t know how to quantify when Gabriel Jesus has been out for four months, Nketiah for three months, Emile Smith Rowe for four and a half months, Kieran Tierney out for a few weeks, Tomiyasu out for three-and-a-half months, maybe now six months. This is football."
Expected return date: Unknown
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny started in the FA Cup win over Oxford United and played the whole 90 minutes. However, the Egyptian was absent for Arteta's squad for the 2-0 win at Tottenham, with a knee issue picked up in training ahead of the clash being assessed. Additionally, there was no place on the bench to face Manchester United.
A club statement then confirmed that the former Basel man will be out for an extended period of time, although no timescale was given on his expected return. Elneny has since penned a new deal at Arsenal as he closes in on a return.
Expected return date: Unknown
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