Will Gabriel be fit to face Monaco? Arsenal defender misses out on Fulham draw and in race against time for Champions League tie

12/08/2024 12:30 PM

Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes is in a race against time to return against Monaco in the Champions League.

The Brazilian has been in imperious form for the Gunners this season but missed the 2-0 win over Manchester United and the 1-1 draw with Fulham through injury.

The game against Man United was the first time in over a year in which Gabriel wasn’t involved in a Premier League match.

They didn’t need him then, but dropped points to the Cottagers.

Their attention now turns to the Champions League, where they are looking to seal a place in the top eight.

Will Gabriel be fit to return against Monaco?

Mikel Arteta was asked after the draw with Fulham if Arsenal would have Gabriel back to face Monaco.

The Gunners are struggling in defensive positions, with Ben White currently out, along with Riccardo Calafiori.

However, Arteta couldn’t provide a definite update on Gabriel or Calafiori.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, he said: “I hope, but it's more a question for the doctors.

“We are missing a lot of players in the backline.“

Despite Gabriel being absent, Arteta was pleased with Jakub Kiwior‘s performance.

“I'm really pleased with the performance of Jakub as well. We had to change the whole unit.

“That's it, they are not available. We have to respond to that and I'm very happy with the way they did.“

Oleksandr Zinchenko was also absent on Sunday, leaving Arsenal stretched in defensive areas.

Should Gabriel or Calafiori fail to recover in time to face Monaco, expect to see the same back four that started against Fulham.

This would mean Thomas Partey at right-back and Jurrien Timber at left-back.

Kiwior would then partner William Saliba.

The result on Sunday in the Premier League was a damaging one for Arsenal.

After the Merseyside derby was postponed because of Storm Darragh, the Gunners had the chance to cut the gap on Liverpool at the top of the table to four points.

However, that draw means the Reds are now six clear of Arsenal with a game in hand.

Speaking after the game, Arteta expressed his frustration at not winning after dominating and seeing a late goal chalked off by VAR.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “That is the game we wanted to play, which is very difficult against this good opponent.

“There is no question that Arsenal deserved to win, but the reality is it’s 1-1.

“They had one shot, one goal, and we didn’t manage to get the three points.”