Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has opened up on his “big fight” with Gabriel Magalhães over a hamstring injury that has ruled the defender out for the season.
Gabriel went off injured early in their 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday.
Subsequent scans confirmed that the Brazilian would require surgery, ending his campaign prematurely.
He becomes the third player in Arteta’s squad to undergo surgery in recent months, alongside Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.
Arteta has now revealed that Gabriel first had the issue against West Ham, a game that Arsenal lost 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
He told reporters: “We have those discussions. I don’t know how we’re going to do it. “For example, we had a situation with Gabi. During the West Ham game, he felt something in his hamstring. We played three days later, six days later, and nine days later. Three days later, he said he was ready to play with a grade one tear. He said, ‘I’m not feeling anything. I want to play’.
“It was a massive fight not to play him. Day six, ‘This one definitely I have to play.’ Everybody’s like, ‘There is still a chance of a risk to play’. We decided after a big fight, don’t play. Day nine, another game.
‘This one for sure’ [says Gabriel]. The doctors say there is a slight risk. He can miss five, six, seven weeks if he has an injury after that. We said not to play. On day 12, he played. But I was very tempted on day six to play him.”
