Arsenal suffer huge injury blow with squad depth to be tested to the limit

Arsenal have been handed yet another injury blow, with Cristhian Mosquera withdrawn during the first half of their clash with Brentford at the Emirates Stadium. The defender jumped to challenge for a long ball directed towards him, landing awkwardly when falling back to his feet.

Mosquera was replaced by Jurrien Timber, who had been rested for the clash, with Ben White featuring at right-back. It comes at a time when Mikel Arteta has been heavily impacted with fitness concerns across his team.

The Gunners went into the clash without their first-choice centre-back pairing of Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, due to their respective injury issues. Gabriel picked up a thigh problem in Brazil's friendly against Senegal in November, which was later confirmed to be an issue which would keep him out for around one to two months.

As for Saliba, he picked up a knock in training that Arteta brandished as "bizarre", but claimed that it would keep him out for a few days. It means he could return to action soon, but his absence meant that the Arsenal boss had to rely on Mosquera and Piero Hincapie from the start against Brentford.

However, the former went down just before half time seemingly clutching his ankle - though it could also have been a knee issue - landing awkwardly after competing for a header. He limped off, with Timber's arrival meaning that Arsenal were down to bare bones in terms of their centre-back options - though the Dutchman does play there for his national team.

It comes at a time where the Gunners will be truly tested in their ability to compete for the Premier League title. The games come thick and fast over the festive fixture period, as shown by the recent return from the international break.

Arsenal are off the back of games against Tottenham, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea, where they picked up two wins and one draw. In the latter of those, some of the effort put in clearly showed as the team looked fatigued in their attempt to find a winner over their London rivals.

As a result, Arteta named a changed team, resting some key stars and bringing in a return for Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, and White. While there was some hope that Timber could be rested ahead of a run that includes Aston Villa and Club Brugge over the next week, his inclusion from the bench will come as something of a double frustration.

The main concern will be for Mosquera, as it remains to be seen the exact extent of his injury concern. It puts a slight dampener on what has been an other wise positive start to life at Arsenal for the defender.

The 21-year-old has made 15 appearances for the Gunners so far, and other than some individual moments of uncertainty, he has settled in well. He may have played more games than expected, due to those injuries, but he has proven to be an important signing so far for Arsenal.

The latest injury may just add another layer of complexity to things for the manager, who said before the game with Brentford: "It's been a headache [the injury concerns]. We've had to have a lot of options and changes over the last few months for different reasons.

"That one [Saliba] is very unexpected and it happened on Saturday, but the beauty of it is that you have players so willing to play, so willing to connect with each other, and it makes their relationship even better. So, it was a great match for all of us, and it gives you the reassurance that whoever is there is going to perform."

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