Without William Saliba who was missing owing to injury, Gabriel Magalhaes was always going to be crucial for Arsenal in their clash with Liverpool.
Gabriel was marshalling a very unfamiliar Arsenal back line which contained Thomas Partey at right back and Ben White playing centrally.
Partey and White were both excellent for what it was worth, Arsenal’s defence problems were mostly stemming from their left.
Jurrien Timber played well, but Jakub Kiwior made a costly mistake for Liverpool’s second goal, even if it wasn’t entirely his own doing.
Gabriel Magalhaes will need a scan to assess knee injury in Liverpool draw
Although a bit of patience will be needed to understand the full extent of Gabriel’s left knee issue, one injury expert who has often been accurate in the past, has taken to X to share their view.
Physio Scout have been accurate with a fair few Arsenal injuries this season, and they believe that the Brazilian may have suffered an MCL issue.
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In the best case scenario Gabriel might be out for one or two weeks if that is the problem.
However, there is the possibility that a grade two injury could prevent the defender from playing for more than a month.
They wrote: “Gabriel Magalhaes went off in Arsenal vs. Liverpool with a knee injury. He tried to play on, but couldn’t.
“Physio was seen performing a bunch of tests, with the valgus stress test being the most aggravating. This likely indicates an injury to the MCL. He was also seen palpating around that inner knee area.
“Injury most likely happened in the tangle with Darwin Nunez minutes early, putting stress around the knee joint.
“Potential Recovery Time: Grade 1: 1-2 weeks. Grade 2: 3-6 weeks.
“Likely it isn’t a grade 3 here, more likely a minor or moderate strain to the MCL. Let’s hope just a grade 1.”
Mikel Arteta’s horrendous injury luck continues
Although we’re still very early in the season, it already feels as if Arsenal are suffering horrendous luck with injuries.
Martin Odegaard has been missing for some time now with an ankle issue sustained whilst playing for Norway.
And although Arteta and Edu focused on improving Arsenal’s squad depth in the transfer window this summer, they wouldn’t have anticipated all of these scenarios.
Of course, it’s not just bad luck that Arsenal are receiving in the physio department, either.
Gabriel Martinelli was denied a penalty against Liverpool, even when VAR reviewed Ibrahima Konate’s rash challenge.
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