Arsenal find Gabriel’s replacement who could be the ‘best in the world’

The international break is coming to an end this weekend, allowing Arsenal to continue their charge for the Premier League title.

Mikel Arteta’s side are four points clear at the top of the table and will face north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.

But, as has been the case every game this season, fresh injuries have made the Gunners’ job even more difficult.

In addition to being without most of their attacking players, Arsenal will also have to make do without Gabriel Magalhães in the derby, but Arteta may have the ideal replacement.

Gabriel injury update

Scores of Arsenal fans gathered at the Emirates on Saturday afternoon in hopes of seeing Gabriel earn another cap for Brazil against Senegal, which he achieved.

However, instead of watching one of the team’s best players practice defensively, he was seen holding his groin and being sent off from the pitch in the 64th minute.

After the game, manager Carlo Ancelotti was less optimistic, telling reporters that he and his staff were “really sorry for what happened” and that things did not seem to be going well for the defender.

Unfortunately, he was subsequently proven right, with The Athletic’s David Ornstein later reporting that the 27-year-old could be sidelined for up to two months following initial tests carried out by the club.

While any injury is a problem for the club, the absence of the former LOSC Lille treasure is a huge problem. He’s been incredibly good this season and was definitely the best player.

For example, he is not only an integral part of the Gunners’ impressive defensive record, but he is also a clutch player inside the opposition penalty area, with two goals and three assists in just 17 games so far.

However, while Gabriel’s absence will be significant in the squad that faces Spurs at the weekend, Arteta has a player in his squad who could be an ideal replacement.

Arsenal’s ideal replacement for Gabriel

The main reason why Arsenal fans can still feel confident heading into Sunday’s game is that Arteta has other quality defenders who can start in Gabriel’s place, such as Cristian Mosquera.

Now, some fans might argue for moving Riccardo Calafioli to a back two or starting Piero Hincapie in place of the Brazilian.

However, the Italian has been incredible at left-back and while the Ecuadorian could be a great back-up, he has only started this season in the League Cup against Brighton & Hove Albion and it is unclear how he will react to the heated derby.

Moreover, despite his young age, the former Valencia gem has already proven that he can step in and thrive even in the club’s most intense atmosphere.

For example, when William Saliba was sent off after just five minutes against Liverpool, Arteta turned to the young Spaniard for just over 85 minutes. You would be forgiven for thinking that the Frenchman was still on the pitch.

The manager then stuck with the Alicante-born monster rather than go with other players and was rewarded with an incredibly dominant performance against Nottingham Forest.

What’s more, despite being just 21 years old, the 6-foot-3 giant already had plenty of top-level experience before moving to North London.

Between his debut for Valencia in the 21/22 season and his departure in the summer, the fearsome centre-back played 90 games and 7,399 minutes for the first team. This helps explain why one analyst last year claimed that “he is on track to become one of the best centre-backs in the world”.

Finally, the right-footed ace has Saliba’s fluid passing ability, but also has Gabriel’s old-school fire and is, in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson, “a ground player.”

After all, losing Gabriel to injury is far from ideal, but Mosquera’s defensive ability and passion could help Arsenal limit the damage.