Arsenal take on Newcastle United in their 10th Premier League game of the season.
The Gunners have had a decent start to their campaign. They have only lost one game so far but are five points behind league leaders Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta will know that he cannot afford to lose many more points in the coming months, and that makes the game against Newcastle on Saturday all the more important.
However, there are a few injury concerns for Arsenal going into the game.
Chris Sutton says Gabriel Magalhaes will not play for Arsenal vs Newcastle United
Gabriel Magalhaes is one of the first names on Arsenal’s team sheet every week.
The Brazilian has been at the Emirates for over four years now, and he has improved tremendously. He is one of Arteta’s most consistent performers and is now among the best defenders on the planet.
Arsenal suffered a huge blow in the game against Liverpool when Gabriel had to hobble off the pitch due to a knee injury. Many feel that is the reason why the Gunners ended up dropping points in that game.
Gabriel, branded as ‘unbelievable’ by Ben White, was left out of the squad for the midweek EFL Cup clash at Preston North End, and it’s still unclear whether he will be available for the game against Newcastle on Saturday.
Sutton has had his say on Arsenal’s number six, and he is absolutely convinced that Gabriel will miss the clash at St James’ Park.
Speaking on Fantasy 606, Sutton said: “He’s not got a chance. Absolutely no chance, zero per cent.
“I’ve got him in the (fantasy) team, but he’s not going to, he’s not recovering from that.”
The latest on Gabriel’s injury
Arsenal have had multiple injury issues since the start of this season, and that has not been ideal at all.
Gabriel is an extremely important player for the Gunners. He is the leader in their defence and also a huge threat in set-pieces as well.
Sutton seems convinced that Gabriel will miss the game on Saturday, but Arsenal fans have plenty of reasons to be positive about regarding the Brazilian’s availability.
Arteta confirmed that Gabriel’s injury ‘doesn’t look bad at all’ earlier this week. To add to that, Football London claim that the defender was actually in contention to play against Preston on Wednesday. Arsenal, however, decided to rest him.
That suggests that Gabriel should be fine for the game against Newcastle United, which is a big boost.
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