Mikel Arteta drops huge Arsenal team selection hint for Real Madrid with Gabriel replacement

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has dropped a huge hint over his preferred replacement for Gabriel Magalhaes with his team selected for Saturday's Premier League game with Everton.

Gabriel suffered a hamstring injury in Tuesday's win over Fulham and was forced off the pitch during the first-half. The Brazilian was replaced by Jakub Kiwior after just 16 minutes.

On Thursday, the club confirmed the extent of the injury, revealing he will miss the remainder of the campaign. It comes as a huge blow for Arteta with his side set to play Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final this month.

The statement released by the club read: "Gabi will undergo a surgical repair procedure to his hamstring in the coming days, and immediately begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme, with the aim to be ready for the start of next season."

On Friday, the defender broke his silence, insisting he intends to come back stronger. In a heartfelt Instagram post, he wrote: "I'll be back soon, stronger than ever. Until then, I'll be supporting the team every step of the way."

In the first game since Gabriel suffered his injury, Arteta handed a start to Kiwior for the first time in the Premier League since the 1-1 draw at Fulham. The Poland international has struggled for regular minutes at the Emirates Stadium since his 2023 move from Spezia.

It is a huge hint that Kiwior will start alongside William Saliba in north London on Tuesday night against Kylian Mbappe. Asked whether the Real Madrid game had an impact on his team selection against Everton, Arteta told TNT Sports: "That and many other niggles we had with players that have played a lot of minutes.

"After the Fulham game we had issues. It's not just about the way we started, it's how we can finish as well, the way we can change the game in the context and that is the decision I have made."

Elsewhere, Bukayo Saka was named on the bench for the trip to Goodison Park alongside Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli. Arteta named a forward three of Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri in attack.

Mikel Merino, Jorginho and Declan Rice line-up in midfield with Ben White returning to the starting XI. Jurrien Timber, who was forced off in the 77th minute against Fulham, is on the bench with academy star Jimi Gower.

Join the football.london Arsenal WhatsApp channel

Join our Arsenal WhatsApp channel and get all the latest breaking news, opinion, podcasts and in-depth stories from football.london's dedicated Arsenal writers straight to your phone!

By following this free service you will be the first to know the news from the Emirates Stadium as it happens, when it happens.

To join our dedicated Arsenal channel, all you have to do is click this link and you can join thousands of others following our Gunners coverage!

If you're curious, you can check out our privacy policy here.