Arsenal faces a potential injury crisis in their defense ahead of the Champions League showdown against Real Madrid after Gabriel Magalges and Julientimber were injured in a Fulham victory in the Premier League on Tuesday.
Gunner moved within nine points of the leader playing on Wednesday, giving a 2-1 victory over Marco Silva’s side at Emirates Stadium. Mikel Merino scored before Bukayo Saka scored 73 minutes 101 days after hamstring surgery and scored as an alternative just seven minutes before marking his first appearance.
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Rodrigo Muniz got Fulham’s downtime, but Arsenal’s greater concern was Gabriel limping early in the first half due to hamstring issues. The wood was then treated, but remained on the field until 77 minutes.
Arsenal travelled to Everton on Saturday and then held Madrid in the first round of the Champions League quarterfinals next Tuesday.
“Gabi felt something in his hamstring,” confirmed gunner boss Mikel Arteta. “I don’t know how big it is. Julien likewise was already struggling very early in the game.
“We don’t know what they’ll be like. We’ll evaluate them tomorrow and get a better idea of how we’re in those two.”
Kai Herberts and Gabriel Jesus are also missing for the rest of the campaign, where they saw Saka, Martin Odegard, Ben White and Gabriel Martinelli absent for a long time throughout their injuries.
“No, unfortunately, especially because there are big, big players in such a big position that they’re incredibly important and it’s affecting the whole line,” he said. “You’re scratching your head. I know from the next few games, [it will be] same.
“But at the same time, it was a great learning experience for us and all our coaches and staff to manage the situation. Finally, players respond to how we respond to it.
“If you start to feel sorry for yourself and say, ‘Oh, is it impossible to do this?” That’s impossible, but these boys, they don’t give you a reason to act that way. ”
Regarding wood, Arteta added: “[He] We were struggling yesterday, but we lost Ben [White] Same thing. He put in great effort to try and play, but he couldn’t continue. ”
