My friends, I had to have oral surgery, after my last batch was cut because I had a cup of tea. Getting teeth removed in your forties is like accepting the work invite from the 20 year old for PowerLeague. Everything hurts worse and the recovery is slower.
But… teeth cannot take my words.
Big Gabi is rumoured to be feeling that line on the long recovery piece.
There are two ways you can look at this:
It is just one of those things.
Footballers love international football. It has lost a bit of its appeal over here, but it is still a massive draw in a lot of countries that do not have the best league in the world to watch every week. Big Gabi was always going to want to show up to a London friendly, despite feeling a knock before Sunderland and having to train alone before the game. This is football, all clubs get injuries, we just have to accept we get more than most.
Should have known better.
Big Gabi is the best centre back in the Premier League. He is the best centre back for Brazil right now. He is more powerful than anyone else in the team, he is a great passer, his defending is intense, and he almost never makes mistakes. Add to that his outrageous threat from corners and you have a player you cannot not have in your starting eleven in the 2026 World Cup.
When you are that good, should you not prioritise having a season of full fitness for your club? What sends a bigger message, a good game against Senegal, or winning the Champions League for Arsenal and having a star role? Ask Thomas Tuchel what he thinks.
If he was struggling, he should have sat out the international break and bet on himself to be good enough in our central defence to make it impossible to ignore next season.
I have Arsenal bias here. For me, it is mad that he took a risk on his fitness, and now he is going to miss a massive chunk of games during the most important part of the season.
I am allowed to be emotional here.
Gabriel could also rest on the pretty strong defence that suggests players are sprinting harder, playing more minutes, and getting less rest between seasons. His injury is part of a worrying pattern across the leagues of players not being able to handle the rigour of a game that needs more games to survive, to find the mega contracts all these players want.
Now the question on Thursday is what Mikel Arteta fancies for the Spurs game.
He has some options:
Big Disruption, Electric Sauce
The most disruptive thing Arteta can do is bring Mosquera into the setup as the right sided defender, and slip Bill Saliba next to him. That is disrupting two positions, which is not ideal, and he is playing Saliba out of position.
Why we like this: We have already seen it. Mosquera is our most experienced Arsenal centre back who is fit right now. The Spaniard is also very big, so you do not lose much in aerial dominance.
Saucy, but new
OK, we are going to move Calafiori into his favoured position, and that is left sided centre back… then we are going to bring Hincapie in at left back for a massive game that needs concentration and aggression.
Why we like this: Calafiori is a very large centre back, he gives us better passing, and he is more dangerous floating through the midfield than Gabriel. It also maintains our threat from set pieces. Hincapie is in decent form for Arsenal and I think he could offer a touch of the unpredictables with some of those rangy runs. Also, do not underestimate his passing, he has those moonrakers like Ben White.
Familiar, but risky
MLS is getting the big write down this season. He has lost some of that unexpected and he is showing some signs that he has a lot to work on. He has not been in good form since the end of last season. Yellow cards, getting caught in possession, and falling out of favour to Calafiori. Tuchel told him he needs to play if he wants the World Cup. Top class teenagers sometimes need a bit of a dressing down to ground them, and Arteta might sense that putting a Hale Ender in the mixer for a mega North London Derby to prove himself could lead to a MoTM performance. If we were going to do this, I wonder if that would be too high risk to play Calafiori next to him, which could see the first pairing I suggested.
Key thing for me is that we have an abundance of talent here.
Matt Kandela, on our latest podcast, went as far as to suggest that maybe we have more passing power without big Gabs?
Too much on the key of hope? Maybe.
Ok, that’s all I’ve got for you today. Jacob and Matt are back for the Therapy Session later on today. Should be a fun one. Proper football is back my friends. Can’t wait. x
Podcast
MIDWEEK DEBRIEF | INJURY CRISIS CONTINUES
Arsenal are about to walk into a seismic week and the boys jump on the mics to break it all down. Spurs at home. Bayern at the Emirates. Chelsea away. Three games that could shape the whole season.
