Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal were “scared” after Gabriel appeared to injure himself against Everton, praising his reaction as he recovered to play a crucial role in the victory.
Alarm bells were ringing for every Gunners fan after 10 minutes of the second half in Saturday’s Premier League contest at the Emirates Stadium, when Gabriel went down having seemed to hurt his right knee while stretching to make a clearance inside the box.
The Brazilian defender looked in considerable pain and immediately raised his hand to the Arsenal bench to signal that he needed medical attention, with Gabriel then receiving treatment on the pitch as concerned supporters and team-mates looked on.
Gabriel's recovery and crucial goal
It did not look good as he gingerly made his way off and continued to stretch out his leg, but then signalled that he wanted to go back on after more treatment on the sidelines.
Not only did Gabriel return, he went on to make sure of another victory for Arsenal that took them level on points with leaders Manchester City - who suffered their first loss of the season at Aston Villa - at the Premier League summit after rising to head home Ben White’s cross with 22 minutes to go.
Asked about Gabriel’s issue and bounce back after the game, Arteta said: “Well, he's a clear example, when I'm talking about the mentality of the team, obviously the mentality of the team is the mentality of the individuals in the team.
“Gabi is a great example of that because we were all scared. Not because of the way he went down, but the reaction of the players that were next to him.
“Immediately he says that he wants to continue and then he scores a goal to help us win the game. That's what we need from our players.”
First set-piece goal of the season
Gabriel’s goal against Everton came after centre-back partner Ezri Konsa had struck his first for Arsenal after only seven minutes, the summer signing crashing in at the back post following a succession of corners.
That was the first set-piece goal scored this season by the reigning champions of England, who developed a formidable reputation for thriving in such circumstances last term.
Arteta admitted that substitute Riccardo Calafiori picked up a “slight issue” during the latter stages against Everton, leaving winger Noni Madueke to finish the match at left-back.
“Yeah, I wasn’t that mad to change those two from their positions,” the manager said. “It was because he [Calafiori] had a slight issue, we don't know what it is. It seems to be something very small, but he was cautious about it.”
Injury list and next steps
Arsenal could reportedly be without Bukayo Saka for up to eight weeks with a quadriceps injury suffered against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, while the Everton game came too soon for fellow winger Christos Tzolis, who has been out for three weeks with a hamstring problem picked up while playing for Greece in the Nations League.
Piero Hincapie returned from an ankle injury with a place on the bench on Saturday, while Gabriel’s regular centre-back partner William Saliba is not available yet but is making great progress in his recovery from a serious back injury suffered at the World Cup with France in the summer that has prevented him from playing a single minute so far this season.
