Arsenal Defender fit for West Ham clash despite Olympiacos knock
There was a bit of a fitness scare against Olympiacos on Wednesday night and it concerned the ever-impressive Gabriel Magalhães. The Brazilian was substituted after being left in a heap by David Raya whilst defending an Olympiacos attack and it left fans concerned about his fitness. Summer signing Cristhian Mosquera was on hand to replace […] The post Arsenal Defender fit for West Ham clash despite Olympiacos knock appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
RR aka Rishi-Raj
There was a bit of a fitness scare against Olympiacos on Wednesday night and it concerned the ever-impressive Gabriel Magalhães. The Brazilian was substituted after being left in a heap by David Raya whilst defending an Olympiacos attack and it left fans concerned about his fitness. Summer signing Cristhian Mosquera was on hand to replace the Brazilian, helping the Gunners shepherd out the win. To be fair, he did not seem injured when coming off and Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta subsequently reinforced this viewpoint.
Speaking after Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Olympiacos, the Spaniard gave a reassuring response when quizzed about the fitness of the central defender. He said: “Yeah, I think he’s going to be OK. He felt something, I think it was a kick, I’m not sure, in the first half, and he was a bit uncomfortable, and towards the second half he was there. He could carry on, but we decided not to take any risks because he’s played a lot of games, he’s coming from a long-term injury as well, and we need to look after him.”
Rotation gives Arteta more flexibility
Last season, the Brazilian missed a large chunk of the closing stages of the campaign due to a long-term injury. His injury was largely due to the sheer number of minutes played, but that will not be the case this season. The presence of solid back-up options like Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié in the squad will give Mikel Arteta greater flexibility in terms of rotation. We saw that against Newcastle in our last Premier League win and it will be a theme for the rest of the season. With West Ham up next, Arteta can afford to rest one of the centre-halves after playing in midweek, while the same can be said for every other outfield position.
Brazil call-up for Gabriel
Gabriel Magalhães is expected to feature against West Ham before heading off to fulfil international duties with Brazil. The defender, along with Gabriel Martinelli, has been named in the Seleção squad for the October internationals.
Phew! Don’t want to lose Gabriel again..
Benjamin Kenneth
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The post Arsenal Defender fit for West Ham clash despite Olympiacos knock appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
