Arsenal players celebrate their win against Fulham (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has suffered a major injury to his club ahead of this weekend’s game against Crystal Palace.
The Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League this week, creating an atmosphere of real optimism among the fans at Emirates Stadium.
However, Arsenal could now face Palace this Sunday without key defender Gabriel Magalhães.
As quoted by journalist Simon Collings in
“Big Gabi had a problem and had to leave the pitch (against Atlético). He hasn’t been able to train yet,” Arteta told reporters.
Arsenal have superior depth this season, but can they cope without Gabriel Magalhães?
Arsenal fans will be hoping that Gabriel’s injury isn’t too serious this time around, but the one reassuring thing about this season is that Arteta has a bigger squad and better depth to deal with situations like this.
One of the slightly underrated new signings this summer is Cristian Mosquera, the young Spanish centre-back who joined from Valencia.
Mosquera has already received some minutes in Arsenal’s starting XI this season, with William Saliba missing several games, and has made few mistakes.
He may not be at Gabriel’s level, but Mosquera is more than good enough to fill in for a game or two. Of course, AFC fans will be hoping that he doesn’t need to play any more.
Arsenal have other versatile players who can play at centre-back if needed, such as Ben White, Julian Timber and Riccardo Calafioli, but Gabriel will be keen to return as soon as possible as he has been hugely important to the club in recent years.