Arteta delivers coy injury update on “outstanding” star alongside Saka
It’s not looking good…
Ahead of one of the biggest games of the Premier League season, Mikel Arteta has provided an update on the injuries of three key Arsenal stars, with the Spaniard left desperately hoping for their return ahead of their title decider against Manchester City.
Arsenal injury news
The March international break has few fans, with clubs left hoping for their players to come back injury-free in the middle of the most important stage of the season. Gary Neville even admitted on The Overlap’s Stick to Football show recently that Sir Alex Ferguson had previously pulled him and others out of England duty while in the middle of a title race:
We may have seen something similar in the most recent break too, with Kevin De Bruyne pulling out of the Belgium squad and Ederson failing to travel with the Brazil squad before both were seen in Manchester City training recently.
When it comes to Arsenal, meanwhile, we saw Bukayo Saka travel before dropping out of Gareth Southgate’s squad, whilst Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes also didn’t travel with the Brazil squad. Unfortunately, Arsenal fans may be in for some bad news on the injury front.
Arteta admitted in his press conference ahead of the game that it’s not clear whether any of the three players will make the City game. When quizzed on the fitness of Gabriel and the attacking duo, the Arsenal boss said (via Goal): “Yeah, there is a chance. They haven’t trained. Tomorrow we have another session, but there is a chance they can be available.
It would be some blow for the Gunners if they were to be missing not only two of their three starting forwards, but also one of their starting central defenders in a game that could make or break their title hopes. The fact that none of the doubts had trained until Friday at the earliest is undoubtedly cause for concern.
“Outstanding” Gabriel is crucial for Arsenal
Not many can stop Erling Haaland, but a defender of Gabriel’s quality would stand a better chance than most, making him vital for Arsenal’s clash against Manchester City. As important as Martinelli and Saka are, if Arsenal’s strongest defensive duo is broken up at the Etihad, then the Gunners could find themselves in trouble.
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand singled out the duo for praise earlier this season, saying on FIVE (via HITC): “The two centre-backs, I think, have been outstanding. To be fair, I called out Gabriel last season, at the back end of the run-in, because I thought he made a few rash decisions, penalties etc. I said at the time, if he doesn’t clear that up in his game, that’s gonna be something to be looked at.”
