Arsenal completed a training session at the Emirates Stadium this weekend, but there is some worry as two key players were not spotted.
Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Magalhaes were both not pictured in the training photos released by the club, leading to some fears that they may be absent ahead of upcoming ties against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.
However, it seems unlikely that either player will be out of action, despite Gabriel Magalhaes leaving the pitch with a knock against Crystal Palace last week.
Their absence from training photos could be a deliberate act by the club, as seen in the Dubai training camp in recent weeks.
Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Magalhaes not spotted in training
Speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Charles Watts told fans not to worry about either player, and explained why the club may have omitted them from the training pictures.
“There’s a few players who people have picked up weren’t involved, or weren’t in the pictures. I think Gabriel was one of them, which obviously is a little bit of a worry,” he stated.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it because you just never know when it comes to Arsenal. You think back to the whole training trip in Dubai, in all of that, Zinchenko wasn’t pictured or filmed once in any of those things, and that was clearly deliberate.
“It’s what Mikel Arteta likes to do, if anyone’s an injury doubt ahead of a game, he never wants them in the pictures or in the videos because he wants the opposition guessing constantly.
“He makes that message very, very clear and so you know there was no Zinchenko at all throughout the training in Dubai in terms of the pictures, and then he rocks up and he starts in the game against Crystal Palace, so just because there’s no Gabriel in these pictures yesterday, it doesn’t mean that he’s not going to be involved against Nottingham Forest.”
Arsenal’s injury scares over Jesus and Gabriel
Losing either of Jesus or Gabriel would be a huge blow ahead of a tough week, particularly after welcoming Thomas Partey back to training, but there should not be much worry yet.
Fans should only be concerned if, on Tuesday, neither player is in the starting XI against Nottingham Forest.
Given that Zinchenko returned from his own injury after the Dubai trip despite not being seen, it seems to be the protocol that some players are purposefully left out of training pictures, in a tactic to confuse the opposition, and perhaps Mikel Arteta sees the value in a perception of uncertainty over his team selection.
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