‘Never Good News’—Mikel Arteta Adds New Injury Concern to Arsenal Woes

The Gunners lost a key player during the FA Cup loss at Southampton.

Mikel Arteta spoke about the injury afterwards. | Robin Jones/Getty Images

Mikel Arteta admitted concern over Gabriel Magalhães after the center back was forced out of Saturday’s shock FA Cup defeat because of a suspected thigh injury.

“I don’t know, I think he felt something—I don’t know exactly what it is,” Arteta told reporters postmatch when questioning turned to the Brazilian’s status.

“We’re going to have to assess him. But, obviously, when a player is asking to be substituted, it’s never good news.”

Arsenal will learn more about Gabriel’s condition in the coming days, but it has the potential to be a significant blow to the Gunners at this critical stage of the season.

Notably, Arsenal lost William Saliba to injury in the final stretch of 2022–23, which was a contributary factor to a late collapse and the Premier League title going to Manchester City instead.

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Gabriel Out, Mosquera In

Gabriel was unable to complete the match. | Robin Jones/Getty Images

Despite being knocked out of the FA Cup—on top of losing the Carabao Cup final last month—Arsenal still have two trophies they could win this season. Both would be historic, chasing a first Premier League title in 22 years and a first-ever in the Champions League.

Gabriel’s availability for Tuesday’s first leg of the European quarterfinal against Sporting CP will be doubtful until at least Arteta has more information the day before the game.

Arsenal have a more favorable route to the final in the knockout phase, avoiding Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid until the showpiece fixture. Sporting are the weakest team left in the competition, with Barcelona or Atlético Madrid awaiting in the semifinal if the Gunners advance.

Cristhian Mosquera will pick up the slack in minutes. | Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Regardless of Gabriel’s availability, there will be confidence going into the Sporting tie, but being without one of the best center backs in the world against higher-caliber opposition would be a worry.

For however long Gabriel is sidelined, the player that will stand in is likely to be Cristhian Mosquera.

The Spaniard started against Southampton, with Saliba rested ahead of the trip to Lisbon. But Gabriel’s withdrawal saw Saliba come off the bench and play the final 20 minutes anyway.

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Arteta Reflects on Quadruple Pain

Mikel Arteta has some selection headaches. | Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images

Arteta denied that the pressure of chasing an unprecedented Quadruple had any impact on losing two of those trophies within the space of a few weeks.

“No, and I don’t want to put any excuses about the players that are missing or the players that are here with issues,” the manager said. “It’s not the case—let’s look at ourselves in the mirror, accept the situation, and go to Portugal with clarity and look forward to it.”

“I don’t know [if it’s a blessing in disguise]. We are out, so while we are out, we still have that pain, but when that pain goes, we have to use the time we have in the best possible manner to maximise every resource we have to then be better.”

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