Mikel Arteta gives cryptic Gabriel Magalhaes injury update before Arsenal’s clash with West Ham

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Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has faced the media ahead of his side’s clash with West Ham in the Premier League this weekend.

The Gunners are looking to string together back-to-back league wins for the first time in nearly two months, showing their recent struggles.

That said, the past two games have shown a clear uptick in performances and results too, something that has brought encouragement for Arsenal fans.

Mikel Arteta will be hopeful his side can start to build momentum, though some of that may depend on injury luck.

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Gabriel Magalhaes injury latest

Defender Gabriel Magalhaes is an injury doubt after he was substituted late in the game against Sporting CP.

The Brazilian international had impressed during the match, keeping Viktor Gyokeres quiet while scoring a goal of his own from a corner.

He was unable to complete the match though, with Arteta claiming that it was a slight injury issue that kept him from staying on.

Gabriel had injury assessments back at Arsenal, with growing doubts over whether he could make the match against West Ham.

As Arteta faced the media, the manager was quizzed on the fitness of his key defender, something he was typically coy on.

He simply responded: “Wait and see.” when asked about the injury surrounding Gabriel and whether he could feature.

Arteta often reveals very little on Arsenal injuries, wanting to keep as much information away from the opposition as possible.

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Who could replace Gabriel for Arsenal against West Ham?

Should Gabriel be out for West Ham vs Arsenal this weekend, there may have to be a slight shuffle in the backline.

Fortunately, Arteta has plenty of options to play at centre-back that could mix and match for each scenario.

Riccardo Calafiori could be on the left side, given his ability at centre-back as well as left-back in defensive positions.

Jakub Kiwior is another available, as well as Jurrien Timber – though the duo are far less likely to feature there than Calafiori.

If the shuffle requires the Italian to play at centre-back, then there are plenty of left-back options available too.

On top of Kiwior and Timber, there’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Kieran Tierney all available.

However, it could all be mind games and Gabriel could be lining up on Saturday in perfect condition.