Arsenal defender David Luiz is an injury doubt for this weekend’s curtain raiser.
The Gunners go to Fulham on Saturday and, according to The Telegraph, they’ll be without the 33-year-old, who has suffered a neck issue.
This is good news and bad news.
It’s bad news because Luiz was a rock for Arsenal toward the end of last season, playing a huge role in Mikel Arteta’s side lifting the FA Cup last month, but it’s good news because fans of the Emirates Stadium side could well see William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes partner one another in central defence.
Saliba is back in North London following a season-long loan at Saint-Etienne, and Gabriel has been training at Colney following a £27 million move from Lille last week.
Arsenal fans haven’t seen either in a competitive game yet and with Luiz out, it’s very possible that Arteta could pair them together at Craven Cottage.
Shkodran Mustafi missed the end of last season – and a Community Shield win over Liverpool a couple of weeks ago – and it looks like he’s still absent, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Rob Holding are both linked with moves away – the Greek probably wouldn’t have been involved anyway, going by his anonymity under the Spaniard since Project Restart.
Saliba and Gabriel both have big futures with the Gunners and maybe, just maybe, Saturday is the day that both kick-star their careers with the Premier League side.
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