Gabriel Magalhaes sends clear Bukayo Saka Arsenal message before injury return

Gabriel Magalhaes has welcomed Bukayo Saka back to Arsenal training before the Premier League clash against Fulham. The Gunners' talisman is expected to feature in some capacity at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening having returned to team training over the March international break.

Mikel Arteta's initially positive update on his fitness also suggested a start is possible before he then confirmed that scenario is plausible. "Bukayo is ready to go. All the careful things are already done. Now it's about putting him in the grass at the right moment.

"But he's pushing because he really wants to. We have respected the timeline, and we have done everything." The Arsenal boss also revealed in the embargoed section of his press conference that Saka, as part of his recovery, played in a friendly.

"We played once, but before that he had six consecutive sessions with the team. He was good. He played that game and he felt completely fine," he admitted.

Judging by the thorough and positive comments, Saka appears set for a prominent role and that will almost certainly arrive as a boost. Following the visit of the Cottagers, Arsenal make the trip Everton this weekend and also face Brentford in between two Champions League quarter-final games against Real Madrid.

Saka featuring in all of those now looks very likely with his Arsenal teammates welcoming him back into the fold full of excitement at what they can achieve. After excitable responses from David Raya and Declan Rice to his return to training post on social media, Gabriel is the latest to make his thoughts clear.

Following on from his own Instagram post, which showed four photos from training the Brazilian reposted the image of himself and Saka onto his story with the caption, "@bukayosaka87 [hands raised and red heart emoji]."

With the image showing Gabriel and Saka likely about to contest for possession, it would not be surprising if the former went in forcefully on the forward as a firm welcome back. It will also be good for him to experience that type of contact and physicality before coming up against one of the league's best left-backs in Antonee Robinson.

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