Ben White and Gabriel Magalhães both checked in to the hotel with the rest of the Arsenal squad ahead of their all important Monday night Premier League clash with Newcastle United.
White, who last featured for the Gunners in a 3-1 win over Manchester United has missed the last three games due to a hamstring injury but was named on the bench in the defeat at Tottheham Hotspur.
Brazilian defender, Gabriel was substituted and replaced by Nuno Tavares due to an apparent injury in the 76th minute of the 3-0 defeat in the North London derby at the Tottheham Hotspur Stadium.
Arsenal are currently short of options in the Centre Back department as Rob Holding, who is the other option is set to serve his one match suspension having been sent off for two bookings on Thursday night.
Speaking ahead of tonight’s game on which defender will be available, Arteta said: “It’s a good question! We will know probably more tomorrow [Monday], we wanted to extend this period as much as possible to understand how they [Gabriel and White] are recovering, how they are feeling, assess them and tomorrow we will know more.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu is another option for backup should either of the former two not be available. Arteta will be reluctant to play Granit Xhaka in the heart of defender for a game of such context given the outcome the last time he withdrew the Swiss captain from midfield.
It is a very crucial stage of the season for Arsenal and the next two games will be vital in defining their season as they bid to return to the Champions League next season.
Arsenal dropped to fifth after Tottenham’s win over Burnley on Sunday and they will now need to win their last two games in order to secure a top four finish.
Author: Kehinde Hassan Afolabi
