Mikel Arteta secret weapons pass new test as Arsenal prepare big change for North London Derby

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Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera both performed well as Arsenal must replace Gabriel Magalhaes for the North London Derby

Piero Hincapie has travelled back from the United States after successfully keeping two clean sheets for Ecuador during their two friendlies over the international break. The 23-year-old has been thrust into to spotlight in the wake of Gabriel Magalhaes’ injury while on duty with Brazil.

The same goes for Cristhian Mosquera, who also completed his round of games for Spain’s under-21s while away with his national side. Mikel Arteta is likely to look to one of these two to play in place of Gabriel in the North London Derby at the weekend.

Mosquera had the benefit of playing just one of the two games, having sat out the 7-0 win over San Marino’s u21s. He returned for Tuesday night’s 2-0 win over Romania u21s where he was captain of the group and kept another clean sheet.

The Spaniard played on the right of a back two central defensive pair, a role he could play on Sunday if William Saliba were to move to the left-hand side of the partnership. Mosquera has played left centre-half, but Arteta might feel more comfortable with the 21-year-old playing in his natural position, and the more senior Frenchman given the trickier task.

For Hincapie, he started and completed both of Ecuador’s two friendly matches and also kept clean sheets in both. However, he was played in the left-back position of a back four in both games, also wearing the captain’s armband.

According to Fotmob, he scored 7.4/10 in the 2-0 win over New Zealand, joint highest of any player in the backline along with Joel Ordonez. While in the 0-0 stalemate with Canada, Fotmob scored Hincapie with a 7.6/10, the second-highest score of any player in the Ecuador squad, second only to the aforementioned Ordonez with 7.7/10.

Both players didn’t play in the left centre-half role that Gabriel typically occupied, but came through both games unscathed and with clean sheets on their record while wearing the armband. Last season, Arteta would have chosen Jakub Kiwior for the role, but with the summer recruitment and Kiwior's exit, he now has several options to choose from.

If Arsenal are to win this league, injuries will need to be dealt with. The club invested for this very reason, but it cannot go unsaid that without Gabriel, regardless of the quality in reserve, the Gunners will not be strong in either box.