Premier League injury analyst Ben Dinnery has revealed his assessment over whether Arsenal defender Gabriel will be able to play against West Ham.
The Brazilian defender was seen to have some discomfort during Arsenal’s 5-1 win against Sporting CP during the week and had to be substituted off after 84 minutes.
He has become a doubt for Saturday’s clash against West Ham where Mikel Arteta will be desperate to get a win as he has an opportunity to leapfrog Manchester City or gain ground on Liverpool as the two play each other on Sunday.
However, there is a chance that he could be without star defender Gabriel as he is trying to recover from a minor issue that he picked up on Tuesday night.
Leading Premier League injury analyst Ben Dinnery told us speaking alongside Mega Dice: “His withdrawal was more of a precautionary measure, he had a little bit of discomfort. It’s not ideal, but Arsenal do have Kiwior as an option who could come in there. They’ve got Zinchenko as well.
“Arsenal are blessed with a with a pretty healthy squad at this moment in time. So, what I would say is if there were any concerns then it could be from the medical team to say is it worth maybe holding him back just for a few extra days?
“I think Gabriel would be one of those players who would be very keen to be involved, so it’s about managing that situation.”
Arsenal could miss up to three players against West Ham
The Gunners have had a lot of issues with injury problems this season, but Mikel Arteta‘s side is in a much better spot now as to a month ago.
However, it’s not only Gabriel who could miss the game as Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are both set to miss the match.
Tomiyasu remains out for some time as Arteta said: “He’s going away for a few weeks to change his environment because it’s been really tough for him. We’re going to give him the best opportunity to try and unlock something, I think we need to be patient.”
Furthermore, White has undergone surgery meaning that he could miss several months. Ben Dinnery added: “Ben White has been managing an issue for quite some time. Potentially with Ben, it could end up being the season. We really don’t know at this stage.”