Gabriel Arsenal replacement named as Mikel Arteta set for crucial Everton and Real Madrid call

Arsenal defender Gabriel has been ruled out for the season after sustaining a serious hamstring injury in the midweek win over Fulham.

The Brazilian will undergo surgery in the coming days and it is hoped he will be fit in time for the start of next season. With eight Premier League games to play, plus two Champions League quarter-final ties against Real Madrid at least, it gives Mikel Arteta a serious headache.

"Well, yeah, it was a tough one to digest because we just got Bukayo [Saka] back, and then we lost Gabi. It was tough," Arteta admitted on Friday.

"The team reacted like it has reacted all season. So really proud of that, and we know that he's going to be out for a while so we need to find different solutions and keep competing the way we have been all season."

With Arsenal travelling to Everton on Saturday, Arteta is now looking for a new centre-back to partner William Saliba at the heart of defence. But who will it be? football.london's writers have their say on who Gabriel's replacement should be, below.

Sam Truelove

I think Riccardo Calafiori would be my first choice but with the Italian injured, it defaults to Jakub Kiwior. The Polish international hasn't been given many chances this season but Everton on Saturday could be the start of a really big week for the defender.

He's comfortable on the ball, left-footed and knows how to be solid under Arteta. It's a no-brainer for me, especially with the fitness concerns surrounding Jurrien Timber and Ben White.

Kiwior has made 18 appearances for the Gunners this term but many of those have been from the bench. For the remaining 10 games - which could be more if Arsenal progress past Real Madrid - I expect Kiwior to start most of them.

Jake Stokes

Mikel Arteta should throw Jakub Kiwior in the deep end and start him alongside William Saliba this weekend. While the 25-year-old defender hasn't played much this season, he's proven in the past that he can hit the ground running.

Arsenal found themselves in a similar predicament midway through last season when Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Jurrien Timber were also nursing injuries. In a desperate effort to reinforce his backline, Arteta threw Kiwior at left-back.

Despite being a centre-half on paper, the Poland international impressed and he helped the Gunners go on an eight-game winning streak in the Premier League. I'd much prefer to see how Riccardo Calafiori gets on in place of Gabriel Magalhaes but, with the Italian injured, Kiwior has the chance to prove his worth.

Matty Hewitt

An injury crisis at the back is far from ideal when you're going into the latter stages of the Champions League, let alone when it's Real Madrid you're facing across two legs. With Gabriel out for the tie, I'd go straight to Jakub Kiwior as William Saliba's centre-half partner.

The Poland international is a natural replacement in the heart of defence, and with injury concerns surrounding White, Calafiori and Timber, Arteta can afford few risks in the biggest game of the season.

Managers can often overthink things and try to be too creative ahead of big games, but Arteta knows he has few options at his disposal and the Polish international deserves his opportunity to impress.

Had the aforementioned trio not been carrying knocks, Calafiori would have been my go to partner in the heart of defence.

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