Arsenal were without Gabriel Magalhaes when they beat Manchester United on Wednesday evening.
The Gunners were able to cope well without the centre-back against the Red Devils, but Mikel Arteta will still want Gabriel Magalhaes back in action as soon as possible.
The Brazilian has formed a formidable centre-back partnership with William Saliba, as the pair have provided the platform for Arsenal’s success and improvement in recent seasons. Gabriel is also a potent threat in the opposition penalty area in set-piece situations.
Arteta praised Jakub Kiwior for how he stepped up when called upon to start against Manchester United, but in truth there is a gulf in quality between what the Poland international can offer compared to what Gabriel brings to the side.
Will Gabriel be fit for Arsenal vs Fulham?
The 26-year-old picked up a knock during the Gunners’ recent win against West Ham United, and was unable to prove his fitness in time for Ruben Amorim’s side’s visit to the Emirates Stadium.
However, after his side beat Manchester United, Arteta insisted that Gabriel’s injury isn’t serious.
With Arsenal set to take on Fulham on Sunday, the Spanish coach has provided a fresh update on the defender’s condition.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: “It’s matchday minus-two, so we have to monitor a few players. We have another training session tomorrow, so we will see how everybody is for Sunday.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu injury raises concerns about Arsenal future
Arsenal suffered an injury crisis earlier this season, and Arteta will be thankful that his squad has a relatively clean bill of health at this stage, aside from Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiori having had to sit out the win over Manchester United.
Beyond that, the only long-term absentee is Takehiro Tomiyasu. The Japanese defender has played just 6 minutes of football for Arsenal this season, as he made a late Premier League cameo against Southampton back in early October.
Tomiyasu has been plagued with recurrent fitness issues throughout his time at the club, and for all of his quality, the point has surely arrived when Arteta needs to seriously consider cutting his losses on the player.
Arteta cannot make plans for Arsenal with Tomiyasu in mind as he cannot be relied upon to remain fit for any extended spell. However, finding a buyer for the 26-year-old could prove very difficult too given his injury record.
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