The 27-year-old has been absent for the Gunners since the international break in November after picking up an abductor problem while playing in a Brazil friendly. ..Continue Reading
On Tuesday evening, Gabriel attended a small-sided match in Peckham, South London, organised among fans of Brazilian club Botafogo.
What started as a casual and friendly match quickly escalated after a reckless challenge left a participant writhing in pain on the artificial surface.
According to The Sun, Gabriel charged onto the pitch from the sidelines to challenge the player responsible.
Video footage shows the ex-Lille defender angrily remonstrating in Portuguese, though the incident stopped short of any physical violence.
“It was really unexpected. He didn’t look injured when he sprinted across the pitch to get involved,” an onlooker told the newspaper. “I don’t know if he knew them personally but he seemed to just see red and fly off the handle.”
After tempers cooled, both teams agreed to end the match. Gabriel has since resumed his recovery programme and is aiming to be back on the pitch early next month.
His absence, along with that of regular defensive partner William Saliba, has taken its toll on Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s injury-depleted side have failed to win two of the four Premier League fixtures in which the pair have not started together.
Arsenal welcome bottom-of-the-table Wolves on Saturday, with Jurrien Timber and either Piero Hincapie or Riccardo Calafiori expected to slot in at centre-back. Saliba, however, is edging closer to a comeback.
“We have to wait and see,” Arteta told a pre-match press conference on Friday. “Yesterday we didn’t train, so we have an extra day between this afternoon, let’s see if he can be available or not.
“It remains the same. If you asked me for the Everton game, I think he will be fit; for tomorrow, I don’t know.”
Timber, meanwhile, sat out Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Club Brugge after sustaining a knock.
“Again, depends how he feels today,” Arteta said of Timber.
“It was a knock that he picked (up) and he wasn’t feeling comfortable. So again, I think it’s a matter of days, but whether it’s tomorrow or not we’ll see.”
Providing an update on Declan Rice, another absentee, Arteta added: “Let’s see how he is today. He was ill, that’s an illness, normally in a few days it gets resolved, but we have to wait and see.”
And regarding Leandro Trossard, Arteta reiterated: “Again, another one that is a matter of days. It sounds boring, but it’s the reality, so we don’t know.”
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