There is no hiding the importance of Gabriel Magalhaes to Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta has just inadvertently revealed why his team could really suffer without him.
Over the weekend, Gabriel Magalhaes suffered a groin injury on international duty with Brazil, and he is set to be sidelined for quite some time.
Gabriel has been so good for Arsenal this season and has quickly become one of the best defenders in the world.
Fortunately, Arsenal’s improved squad depth means they are well covered in defence; however, losing the 27-year-old is still a massive blow.
Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhaes is out injured for one to two months
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes is likely to be ruled out of action for around one to two months, according to David Ornstein.
The Gunners are continuing to assess the Brazilian international’s latest injury, but the club fear that he could now be sidelined for quite some time.
Last season, Gabriel suffered a hamstring injury, which sidelined him for 104 days, and it was a period in which the team suffered.
The former Lille defender missed all eight of Arsenal’s remaining Premier League matches last term, and they ended up winning just three of them.
Since his debut for the North London club, the Gunners’ win rate drops from 63.3 per cent to 40.0 per cent when he is not in the team, as per Opta data.
Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal against Newcastle
Mikel Arteta has picked Gabriel’s goal against Newcastle as his favourite Arsenal goal since taking charge of the team.
The Arsenal boss claims that his team’s ability from set pieces is so important to him, as those situations allow him to control which players get the chance to score.
Gabriel has become so dangerous from corners; therefore, losing that threat is going to be such a massive blow for Arsenal.
When asked why being dangerous from set-pieces is so important, Arteta told Sky Sports: “Variability. That means unpredictability, and that means that you are a threat in any situation. That’s my job.
“If we generate 12, 14 corners, we have the ability to put anybody of our choosing inside the box and whoever wants to take it. You have to exploit that for sure.
“This one was from this season, a last-minute winner.
Yes, for sure, I’m going to go for this one because it’s the most recent one. The emotion is still there, and football is about the present, and that’s the very recent present. So I go for this one.”
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