Mikel Arteta has eased injury fears over Gabriel Magalhaes after the defender was forced off in Arsenal’s Champions League victory over Olympiacos.
Arsenal made it two wins from two in Europe this season with Gabriel Martinelli on target after 12 minutes with Bukayo Saka adding a second in added time.
In a relatively uneventful game, there was concern for Gabriel when he went down following a collision with David Raya. He was replaced by Cristhian Mosquera for the final stages of the game.
The Gunners are back in Premier League action on Saturday at home to West Ham United with Arteta confident his centre-half has not suffered anything serious.
Arteta explained the change was largely a precautionary one given Gabriel’s lengthy absence with a hamstring injury earlier this year.
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‘I think he’s going to be okay,’ he said.
‘He felt something, I think it was a kick, I’m not sure, in the first half, and he was a bit uncomfortable, and towards the second half he was there.
‘He could carry on, but we decided not to take any risks, really, because he’s played a lot of games. He comes from a long-term injury as well, and we need to look after him.’
Gabriel has been ever-present in the Arsenal starting XI, playing every minute of their Premier League campaign so far.
Martin Odegaard was back in the starting XI on Wednesday night having recovered from a shoulder injury with Ben White also returning at right-back.
Noni Madueke is sidelined with a knee injury that could keep him out until mid-November with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus also still on the sidelines.
Arteta was able to rest Riccardo Calafiori, Eberechi Eze, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Saka after a demanding game against Newcastle United last weekend with Arsenal’s strength in depth compared to last season formidable.
‘Last season we were looking and we had five academy players there that probably never played professional football in the Champions League, so yeah, it makes a difference,’ Arteta said.
‘Today we decided to change six players, I think it was, because I want everybody to really be involved and feel part of it, and it was great and we had the feeling as well that physically we were dropping because we played a really intense match in Newcastle a few days ago.
‘The ones that came in, again, they lifted the level and they helped us to win the game, and that’s great.’
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