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Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes is expected to miss at least a month after suffering a muscle injury while playing for Brazil during November's international break.
Ex-Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna says that Gabriel Magalhaes' injury will not prevent Arsenal from winning the Premier League title this season.
Gabriel limped off in the 64th minute during Brazil's 2-0 win against Senegal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The 27-year-old appeared to suffer a muscle problem while sprinting.
Reports have suggested that Gabriel could now be out of action for at least a month, missing some crucial fixtures in the Premier League and Champions League. If the ex-Lille player is out for four weeks, then he would be unavailable for seven matches across all competitions, including the north London derby this weekend and next Wednesday's blockbuster clash against Bayern Munich.
With Gabriel set to be ruled out for the foreseeable future, at least, Piero Hincapie is expected to come into their line-up alongside William Saliba - although Cristian Mosquera could slot in at left centre-back or Riccardo Calafiori might be poised to move into the middle with Myles Lewis-Skelly coming in on the left side of defence.
Nevertheless, Sagna doesn't think that Gabriel's absence will impact Arsenal's bid for the Premier League title. He cited the fact the Gunners have a much deeper squad now, compared to when Saliba was ruled out for a number of matches two years ago - a period that all-but derailed their 2022/23 title push.
Sagna told Oddspedia: "Gabriel's injury won't stop Arsenal from challenging for the Premier League title. They have a much deeper squad now, compared to two or three years ago.
"It's unfortunate for any player to get injured, but Mikel Arteta now has the players at his disposal to fill Gabriel's position in the meantime. They will notice him not being part of their back-line, but I don't believe it will have too much of an impact.
"Arsenal learned from a similar situation in the past with William Saliba. When he got injured in 2023, Saliba missed nearly half the season and they suffered because of it.
"But things have changed since then - Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori are more than capable of filling Gabriel's position while he's out; they're both top quality players and are proof of the improvements to the squad in recent years."
The Gunners, who sit four points ahead of second-place Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, face Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday afternoon.
Previewing Arsenal's clash against Spurs, Sagna added: "I've been really impressed with Arsenal so far this season. They seem to have the right mentality to sustain a Premier League title challenge and have already performed well in big games.
"At home, they will have too much quality against Tottenham, even with Gabriel's absence. I can see them winning comfortably, 2-0."
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