Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has admitted that defender Gabriel Magalhaes is ‘getting closer’ to a return to action for the Gunners.
Arteta saw his Arsenal side beat West Brom 6-0 in the Carabao Cup last night, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang racking up a hat-trick in a superb display.
Arsenal fans will now hope to turn a corner, and some players coming back from injury would certainly help.
Thomas Partey is on the road to recovery, and the same goes for defender Gabriel.
The 23-year-old picked up a knee injury whilst on international duty with Brazil at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.
That means he has missed the first two Premier League games against Brentford and Chelsea, whilst he wasn’t involved against West Brom either.
Gabriel has though been spotted training at London Colney over the last week, ramping up his efforts to return to action.
Arteta has now told Football.London that Gabriel is ‘getting closer’ to a return, but playing against Manchester City is still in question.
“He’s getting closer he’s had a couple of sessions with the team. We don’t know, let’s see how he is,” said Arteta when asked whether Gabriel could be back this weekend.
Gabriel, who signed a £90,000-a-week deal after arriving from Lille last summer, had real moments of potential last season.
A naturally left-footed centre back, Gabriel is more athletically gifted than Pablo Mari, and would give Arteta a potentially exciting pairing with Ben White.
The sooner Gabriel is back, the better, but if he needs the international break just to get himself fully ready, Arsenal are better off being patient.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
