Arsenal fear Gabriel Magalhães may be sidelined for at least a month after the defender suffered a thigh injury while on international duty with Brazil. The 27-year-old limped off during Brazil’s 2-0 win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium and has since undergone further tests back in London, with assessments still ongoing.
Gabriel is already ruled out of Sunday’s north London derby against Tottenham and the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich. Depending on the severity, he could also miss Premier League games against Chelsea, Brentford and Aston Villa, as well as the Champions League trip to Club Brugge on 10 December.
The setback comes at a critical time for league-leaders Arsenal, who have built their early title push on a defence that has conceded just five goals in 11 matches. Gabriel has played every Premier League minute this season and was central to the team’s recent run of eight consecutive clean sheets.
New signings Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié are candidates to step in, while Arsenal also face uncertainty up front. Viktor Gyökeres is still recovering from a hamstring issue that kept him out before the international break.
Arsenal’s injury list is growing: captain Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli remain out, while Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann revealed Kai Havertz suffered a “minor relapse” in his knee recovery. Havertz is now expected back toward the end of the year.
With a hectic December approaching, Mikel Arteta’s squad depth is set for a major test.
