According to Mikel Arteta, Arsenal will have to wait to hear about the severity of the double injury blow that Gabriel and Jurrien Timber have sustained simultaneously.
At some point during the Gunners’ 2-1 victory over Fulham on Tuesday night, both of their defenders were substituted out of the game.
It was observed that Gabriel was holding the back of his leg with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. This occurred with less than fifteen minutes of play remaining.
He made a series of hand gestures in the air to indicate that he was hurt, and then he sat down on the pitch with a distressed expression before being replaced because of his injury.
Timber received medical attention for an injury during the first half, and then dropped to the ground once more during the second half, which resulted in Arsenal making another substitution.
The pair was replaced by Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard, respectively, and Arteta is currently waiting to learn the severity of their injuries.
Arteta offered the following statement in response to the double injury blow: “There are two players on this team who never want to come off.”
“Gabi felt something in his hamstring, and we don’t know how big that is. Jurrien, on the other hand, was already having a difficult time very early on in the game.
The fact that he was able to continue, but at some point he was unable to, is the negative aspect of the situation.
Our defensive line has suffered the loss of four players in the span of one week: Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien, and Gabi Magalhaes. You can imagine the impact this has had on us. There are still four more of them, and this time they are so willing that they will carry out their duties.
Arteta is confident that Arsenal will recover just as they have throughout the season, despite the new injuries that have occurred.
He went on to say, “The positive aspect is that it has been like this throughout the entire season.”
“You meet with Martinelli today, and you claim that we have been absent for three months. You see, Bukayo, it’s been four months. You, Jesus, for the majority of the season. The question is how we have been able to get to this point despite all of those injuries. The fact of the matter is that Ben White has not participated in any way during this season.
In light of the fact that we want it so badly, we are going to give it a serious shot, and we are very excited for the following week.
Dean Ashton, a former striker for West Ham United, commented on Gabriel’s injury while providing commentary for talkSPORT. He said, “It’s a massive blow.
The best defence in the Premier League is comprised of him and [William] Saliba, and his threat from set pieces is also a significant factor.
“I’d hate to have to play against Adama Traore and clearly it was too much for Gabriel when he turned.”
Declan Rice, a fellow teammate, is positive that Gabriel’s injury is not as severe as it initially appeared to be.
“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,” he stated to Sky Sports following the match.
Despite the fact that Arsenal’s chances of winning the Premier League title are slim, the injuries are extremely unfortunate given that the Gunners will be playing Real Madrid in the Champions League the following week.
Arsenal will play Los Blancos at their home stadium the following Tuesday, and then they will travel to the Bernabeu for their quarterfinal match eight days after that.
On the other hand, before that, on Saturday, there will be a Premier League match against Everton, which will be broadcast live on talkSPORT.
On Arsenal’s list of players who are expected to be absent for an extended period of time, Gabriel and Timber could join teammates such as Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.
In addition, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Riccardo Calafiori have had difficulty maintaining their fitness throughout the season, which has resulted in Arsenal losing their hold on position one.
Despite the fact that Gabriel suffered an injury early on, the Gunners were able to score their first goal later in the first half thanks to a deflected shot from Mikel Merino.
After that, they added their second goal, which was scored by Bukayo Saka, who had been sidelined with a hamstring injury since December and had made his first appearance since then.
Despite the fact that Rodrigo Muniz scored for Fulham in the final minute of stoppage time, the club was unable to complete the comeback and earn a point from the tournament.
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