Arsenal: Mikel Arteta gives Gabriel and Jurrien Timber injury updates after double scare ahead of Real Madrid | OneFootball

Gunners suffer more injury woes with Real Madrid clash just a week away

Huge blow: Gabriel limped off for Arsenal against Fulham

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Arsenal face a nervous wait to assess injuries to Gabriel and Jurrien Timber, after the pair were forced off against Fulham.

Gabriel went straight off and down the tunnel when play was stopped, with Jakub Kiwior introduced in his place, and that immediately raised doubts over his availability to face Real Madrid, who travel to north London next week for the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie.

“The downside is Gabi and Jurrien,” Arteta said after the match as he reflected on the match.

“We don’t know how they are going to be. We will be assessing them tomorrow and understand better how we are with those two.

“If there are two players in this team who never want to come off, it’s those two probably. Gabi felt something in his hamstring, we don’t know how big that is.

“And with Jurrien as well. He already was struggling very early in the game. He managed to continue and at some point he couldn’t. That’s the downside. Jurrien was a knee [injury].”

Arsenal are already without Takehiro Tomiyasu and Riccardo Calafiori, who picked up a knee injury while away with Italy in the international break.

Ben White was also ruled out of the Fulham match with that Arteta described as a “niggle”, and the latest double blow leaves Arsenal increasingly short of options in defence.

“The good thing is it’s been like this all season,” Arteta said.

“You see Martinelli today, we missed him for three months. You see Bukayo, four months. Kai [Havertz] four months, Gabi Jesus almost the whole season.

“How we have managed to be where we are with all those injuries... Ben White hasn’t participated 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.

“We lose four players in the defensive line in one week. Calafiori, Ben White, Jurrien and Gabi. We have still another four that they are so willing that they will do the job.”