Mikel Arteta warned that Arsenal may need to be careful with star defender Gabriel Magalhaes in the coming weeks, after the centre back picked up a knock while on Brazil duty.
Gabriel had been a surprising omission from Arteta’s team sheets at the start of the season, with the Spaniard choosing Thomas Partey at right back with Ben White partnering William Saliba in the middle.
Against Manchester United, however, the Brazilian was back in partnership with Saliba for a 3-1 win for the Gunners in a dramatic clash at the Emirates. Gabriel was taken off late on in a 5-1 win over Bolivia over the international break, before being seen with an ice pack on his thigh.
However, he went on to play the full 90 minutes against Peru just four days later, seemingly recovering from the slight issue. ‘We try to always check the players and understand what happened,’ Arteta claimed when asked about any concerns of Gabriel’s fitness.
‘We had good contact with the national team and Gabi had a little issue, but then he managed to play the second game. ‘So it’s something that obviously for the next sequence of matches we’re going to have to be aware of.’
Everton are next up for the Gunners, who are still yet to lose at the start of the season after three wins and a draw against Fulham. A key part of what has made the Gunners so impressive in the last 12 months has been the rapid and continued rise of Bukayo Saka.
Fans may have been looking on concerned when he appeared to struggle during England’s recent 1-1 draw with Ukraine, but Arteta has since assuaged those concerns, claiming the player has been back in training as normal.
‘He’s fine, he trained normally today. There’s nothing to report. Every player has pains or issues. But [there is] nothing to worry about.’ Although the Gunners waded into the transfer market to twice reinforce their midfield this summer with the signings of Declan Rice and Kai Havertz, it is another central player that could be returning to the fold soon enough.
Mohamed Elneny is now the longest serving player at Arsenal, but has been out with a long-term knee injury since January. ‘He has been training with us, he had a little niggle in his hamstring a few weeks ago and he is back in training now,’ said the Spanish coach, when asked about the Egyptian stalwart.
‘I always said he’s our glue player, he’s the one that brings everybody together, sticks everybody together, he’s a really important player for me in the squad and I am delighted to have him.’ ‘Obviously it’s been a long-term injury, the latter stages of that rehab right now and then it’s about building momentum and game time with him.
