Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has expressed concern after the Gunners lost both Gabriel Magalhães and Jurrien Timber to injuries during their 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday evening.
While Bukayo Saka made a successful return from injury to score the decisive goal, Arteta’s defensive options are being severely stretched. With Ben White already sidelined and Riccardo Calafiori suffering a knee injury on international duty, Arsenal fans were alarmed to see Gabriel pull up with a hamstring issue just 16 minutes into the match.
Timber, who had only recently recovered from illness, was also forced off late in the second half, leaving Arteta worried about his defensive setup ahead of next week’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid.
“We don’t know how they’re going to be,” Arteta said of Gabriel and Timber. “We’ll assess them tomorrow and get a better understanding of where we stand with those two.”
Arteta continued, acknowledging the significance of the injuries: “If there are two players in this team who never want to come off, it’s probably those two. Gabi felt something in his hamstring, and we don’t know how serious that is. As for Jurrien, he was struggling early in the game but managed to continue until he couldn’t. It’s a knee issue for him.”
Despite the frustration of losing four defenders in a week, Arteta remained resilient, pointing out the team’s experience in managing injuries this season. “The good thing is we’ve had to deal with this all season,” he said. “You see Martinelli, who we missed for three months, and Bukayo for four months. Kai Havertz also had four months out, and Gabriel Jesus almost the whole season.”
He added, “How we’ve managed to be where we are with all those injuries… Ben White hasn’t played at all this season. It is what it is, but we want it so much that we’re going to give it a real go. Losing four defenders in a week—Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien, and Gabi—we still have other players who are eager to step up and do the job.”
