Mikel Arteta has issued an update on Arsenal’s latest injury setback following his side’s dominant 5-1 demolition of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.
The Gunners headed into the fixture on the back of a confidence-boosting 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday which halted a run of three games without a victory.
And they made the Portuguese champions look rather ordinary on Tuesday night, securing their biggest away win in the Champions League since they thrashed Inter Milan in 2003.
Mikel Arteta’s side led from the seventh minute onwards and, barring a period of pressure early in the second half, they blew away Sporting, inflicting their first defeat of the season.
Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard sent Arsenal on their way to a much-needed first Champions League win away from home since Sevilla in October 2023.
The mood was soured a little when Gabriel trudged off after 84 minutes and now Arteta has revealed the extent of the centre-back’s latest injury.
Gabriel fell victim to another injury in Arsenal’s 5-1 mauling of Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday
Mikel Arteta has revealed the Brazilian trudged off the pitch after ‘feeling some discomfort’
Five different players were on the scoresheet as the Gunners stormed to a convincing win
He said: ‘We had to make the change for Gabriel because he was feeling some discomfort.’
The Brazilian’s latest knock represents yet another setback in his season, after he was forced off in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool last month.
That day, the knock appeared to come after a collision with Darwin Nunez seemed to jar Gabriel’s left knee and the defender was later spotted by the TV cameras on the substitutes’ bench with his knee heavily iced up.
He made a remarkable recovery from the injury and only missed the Gunners’ EFL Cup match against Preston before returning for a 1-0 defeat by Newcastle just a week later.
The defeat was Arsenal’s second on the bounce in the league away from home and was followed by a 1-0 loss to Inter Milan and a frustrating stalemate at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
But the Gunners look to be turning things around, with their uptick in form largely influenced by their injury crisis easing and, in particular, the return of captain and Martin Odegaard.
The Norwegian ran the show against Forest, creating a string of chances and showing a typical assuredness on the ball as Arsenal cruised to victory without the away side having a single shot on target.
Saka and Thomas Partey both scored wonderful goals at the Emirates before Ethan Nwaneri bagged his first Premier League strike to wrap it up.
Gabriel also left the field early with a knee injury against Liverpool last month
Arsenal put on a show as they returned to winning ways in the Champions League on Tuesday
Martin Odegaard is perhaps the best midfielder in Europe right now and shone again for Arsenal on Tuesday
Leandro Trossard (left) and Kai Havertz (centre) were both on the scoresheet for the away team
Last night’s win was even more impressive, especially given Sporting’s convincing 4-1 victory over Manchester City just three weeks prior.
A fluent move down the right seven minutes in ended with Jurrien Timber fizzing a ball across the six-yard box that caused all manner of issues for Sporting’s defence, goalkeeper Franco Israel being spooked by Havertz’s presence, and waiting at the back to pounce was Martinelli.
One soon became two. Partey clipped a fine pass out to Saka in the 20th minute which the England international immediately squared to Havertz. Another tap in, this one giving Havertz the 100th club goal of his career.
Declan Rice then bent in a corner and Gabriel powered through a crowd of players to thump in a header that immediately muffled the shrill of 40,000 Portuguese whistles and wrapped up victory.
Arsenal were soon dealt a reminder not to be too complacent. A shot in the opening minute of the second period from Hidemasa Morita had David Raya scrambling to push it wide but the danger had not been averted; from the resultant corner, Goncalo Inacio cracked a drive beyond the Spaniard.
How Arteta needed his team to land a counterpunch of their own and they managed it in the 64th minute. Odegaard had moved forward but his path to goal was crudely ended by Ousmane Diomande, the defender fortunate to be on the pitch after receiving a fifth-minute booking.
Szymon Marciniak, the Polish referee, pointed to the spot and Saka did the rest. The gloss was applied in the 82nd minute, when substitute Trossard headed home from close range.
