Arsenal handed another injury doubt for Tottenham clash after twist and Gabriel blow

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been hit with another injury doubt ahead of the impending derby match at home to Tottenham, with news now confirmed that star defender Gabriel Magalhaes will be out for weeks.

The Gunners welcome Tottenham to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday with great confidence, as Arteta’s side look to extend their recent impressive dominance over their fiercest rivals and strengthen their grip at the top of the Premier League.

Arsenal enter the 198th North London derby in good form despite a late setback to Sunderland that ended their 10-match winning streak. They sit four points clear at the top of the table, and history suggests they are well placed to maintain that advantage.

Arsenal have won five of their last six Premier League meetings with Tottenham, including three in a row – their longest winning streak against Tottenham since the late 1980s (analyst).

Home advantage proved crucial in this match. In fact, Arsenal have lost just one of their last 32 derby matches at home to Tottenham in the Premier League, winning 19 and drawing 12, with that only defeat coming in November 2010 (The Analyst).

The Emirates have become a bulwark against their arch-rivals, with Arsenal scoring in each of their last 26 home league matches against Tottenham, and scoring at least twice in the previous eight encounters.

However, Arsenal had several injury doubts, as has been the case for most of this season.

Gabriel is now said to be fit for at least a month on the sidelines after injuring his thigh while on international duty with Brazil, with Victor Gioqueris, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus all recently sidelined.

Riccardo Calafiore could miss Tottenham as Arsenal are hit with another injury doubt

In addition, star left-back Riccardo Calafiore, who has been one of Arsenal’s players of the season so far according to Ray Parlour, has been suffering from a groin problem while on international duty with Italy.

Following scans this week, Fabrizio Romano stated that Calafiore is fit to play with no injuries, just a ‘plus’, so Arteta’s latest update actually comes as quite a surprise development.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, via football.london, Arteta said Calafiore is unavailable, and they will have to wait and see if he can feature against Tottenham, pending another training session on Saturday.

With Gabriel already ruled out, losing Calafiore would deprive Arsenal of two more versatile defensive options in one fell swoop.

If the former Bologna star is ruled out, Miles Lewis Skelly is expected to return to left-back, with Cristian Mosquera or Piero Hincapie replacing Gabriel. Calafiore has been in exceptional form this term, so much so that Lewis Skelly, one of Hale End’s newest rising stars, barely got a look in despite his excellent 24/25 finish.

The 23-year-old will be a painful loss for Arteta, who now faces a real selection headache ahead of one of Arsenal’s biggest games of the year.