Mikel Arteta has provided a concerning update on Gabriel after the defender was forced off during Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham with an injury.
The Gunners started the crucial North London Derby well but found themselves behind when Harry Kane converted a controversial penalty for a soft foul by Cedric. Rob Holding was then shown a second yellow card for a block on Heung Min-Son moments later. Then in Holding's absence, Kane was allowed to pull away from Eddie Nketiah to head home a second from close range after a flick on at a corner that was itself surrounded in controversy due to what appeared to be a foul on Bukayo Saka in the build-up.
Any chance of a second-half comeback was ended as Son struck a third for Spurs just seconds after the break. To make matters worse for Arsenal Gabriel then appeared to pull up injured and had to be replaced by Nuno Tavares for the closing exchanges of the match. Now Arteta has provided the latest on the Brazilian's fitness.
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"It's a muscular injury," the Spaniard said. "Gabby normally is not a player that asks to come off the pitch," he added. "So he’s done something and hopefully it’s not much because with Rob out and Ben having no training sessions we are really short in that position."
As Arteta mentions Arsenal now find themselves in something of a crisis in the centre back position. Ben White was fit enough to make the bench for Thursday night's defeat after missing the victories over West Ham and Leeds with a tight hamstring and appeared to be preparing to come on after Holding's dismissal.
However, Arteta admitted after the game that the 24-year was not in contention to play too many minutes. "To take the risk in the situation that the game was it didn’t make any sense," he told Sky Sports.
With Pablo Mari and Calum Chambers having both left in January and Holding's impending suspension, the Gunners are now immensely short in central defence if both Gabriel and White aren't fully fit. Takehiro Tomiyasu can play there, while Granit Xhaka filled in during the closing stages of North London Derby, but with numbers so limited, Arteta admitted Arsenal may look to appeal Holding's red.
"I will speak to the club and let’s see how we feel about it and what options we have," the Spaniard said after expressing fury at the refereeing decisions on the night. "We always defend our players as a club so we will look what the best possible options are that we have."
Arsenal will now likely have to win both of their remaining fixtures against Newcastle and Everton, with the gap to Tottenham now being just one point for the final top-four space. With this in mind, Arteta will be hoping to have as many of his first-team players available as possible.
