Mikel Arteta drops Gabriel and Jurrien Timber injury update after Liverpool stalemate | OneFootball

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has more injury concerns after the 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the Premier League.

The Spaniard has provided an update on two of his defenders, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber, who both went off against Liverpool on Sunday in their highly important clash.

The Gunners are already missing a number of key members of their squad with fitness issues.

Captain Martin Odegaard, defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko, Riccardo Calafiori and Takehiro Tomiyasu are currently out for the Gunners with injuries and now they have another headache about Gabriel and Timber.

Gabriel was replaced after getting injured following a collision with Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez in the second half while Timber limped off during the final stages of he match after making his return from an injury.

Arteta spoke to the media after the match but failed to provide information about when the two defenders could return.

Arteta said, as reported by GOAL:

“I think we’ve done everything we could to accelerate that process. He [Timber] was so willing. The team and the medical staff have done a great job. We gave ourselves the chance to compete. I don’t know the extent of the injury if there is one. The same with big Gabi. Continue to go.”

Gabriel has been the pillar of the Arsenal defense and his partnership with William Saliba is recognised as one of the best defensive partnerships in world football.

Mikel Arteta has another injury concern. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

His quality and experience is crucial for the Arsenal and when Arteta was pressed to give a timeline over Gabriel’s return to action, he said:

“I don’t know but he could not run. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if it’s the knee joint or the ankle. They’re assessing him now.”

It is a huge blow for the Gunners who are going through an injury crisis this season.

The positive that Arteta can take from their 2-2 draw against Liverpool is that even with so many injuries, they have only lost one match all season and that was their surprise defeat against Bournemouth.

Arsenal are still third in the Premier League, behind Manchester City and Liverpool and they are expected to once again fight for the league title.

Mikel Arteta needs a fully fit squad to cope with busy schedule

Arsenal’s squad depth will be tested in the upcoming matches with the Gunners getting ready to take on Preston North End in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday before a difficult away trip to Newcastle United next weekend.

Ideally, Arteta, who has been called a similar manager to Jose Mourinho by Jamie Carragher, would want his team to be closer to league leaders Man City, who have now managed to open up a five point gap between them and the Gunners.

After taking the lead twice against Liverpool, a draw against Arne Slot’s side is not the best result for Arsenal, as relayed by Roy Keane, but they would not be too sad about it since they finished the match with a back four of Thomas Partey, Ben White, Jakub Kiwior and Miles Lewis-Skelly.