Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Gabriel Magalhaes, following the Arsenal defender’s injury concerns during the Champions League victory against Olympiakos. Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka won a dominant 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening.
As a result, Arsenal have now earned maximum points in both of their European games this season. However, Arteta faced a major setback in the second half when Gabriel was forced to leave after David Raya landed heavy on the 27-year-old center back. Cristhian Mosquera joined the fight to replace the Brazilian. Reported By Express News.
Following the confrontation, Arteta explained that Gabriel’s withdrawal was just precautionary. The Spanish tactician told reporters, “Yeah, I think he’s going to be fine.” He felt something, I believe it was a kick, in the first half and was a little uncomfortable, but by the second half, he was there.
“He could carry on, but we decided not to take any, really, because he’s played a lot of games, he comes from a long-term injury as well, and we need to look after him.”
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Arteta will be hoping Gabriel recovers quickly ahead of Saturday’s showdown with West Ham. If he is sidelined, William Saliba will most likely defend alongside Mosquera.
Reflecting on the win over Olympiacos, Arteta said: “Well, very happy, obviously winning in the Champions League is always difficult, keeping another clean sheet, we’ve made something like 11 in 14 games, which is remarkable from the boys.”
In His Words?
“I think we started the game extremely well; I think we looked like a big threat, incredibly dynamic, really playing forwards, with a lot of runs and threats.
“In general, we have two or three good chances to score in this competition, but we do not convert them. You must exercise caution; the first arrival, David, had to make an unbelievable stop to prevent the goal, which is also required in this competition.
“And after that, we had times of a lot of dominance, as you mentioned, and then others where, without control and dominating in direct play, we got a little deeper, and every time they put balls in the box with crosses, it’s a very dangerous team.
“In the end, we missed two great chances, but we did find a way with Bukayo to score a goal and breathe a little bit in the first few minutes, since this is a squad that finished the game very well. I believe they’ve won five games this season in the last few minutes, and we agreed that they’d keep believing until the finish, and they made it difficult in the end.”
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