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Gabriel is “not too far” from returning to the Arsenal line-up, Mikel Arteta has revealed, as the manager gave an update on the fitness of his squad ahead of the Gunners’ trip to Everton this weekend.
The Brazilian defender was integral to Arsenal’s impressive start to the season last season suffering from hip injury Playing for Brazil against Senegal in a friendly match at the Emirates last month.
Arsenal, who are two points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the table, have kept only one clean sheet in five Premier League games since Gabriel was injured, which coincided with an injury to his long-term defensive partner William Saliba.
Saliba is now back in the team and Arteta has indicated it will not be long before Gabriel joins him – although the manager would not be pressed on whether he will be fit to face surprise title rivals Aston Villa, who are third, on December 30.
“He’s pushing very hard, like he does,” Arteta said. “He is doing [training] Session, that’s not too far. We will have to see how he progresses but we are quite positive.
Ben White adds his name to the injury list with a hamstring strain Gunners’ dramatic 2-1 win at Wolves last weekend, and is not expected to return until the New Year.
“He’s out [of the Everton game],” Arteta confirmed. “He is developing well. This is not a major injury but due to this he will be out of some matches. It’s not a big problem, he heals really fast, so hopefully he’ll be back with us after the next few games.”
Arteta also spoke about Kai Havertz, suggesting he could return to the team soon after a long spell out due to a knee injury, and revealed that Martin Zubimendi missed training this week due to load management.
“The small windows that we have, we make sure we look after him and he understands that you have to take every possibility and every opportunity in this league to look after yourself, because the demands are going to be really high,” Arteta said of the Spanish midfielder.
“But I think he’s coping really well with the league, facing all the challenges that the league brings to you. A new club, a new country, and I think he’s exceptional.”
After a rare week between games, Arteta is preparing his squad for an intense run of festive fixtures, with a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace on Tuesday before Premier League games against Brighton, Villa, Bournemouth and Liverpool in the space of 12 days.
The manager was asked what he wanted for Christmas. “Win, win, win, win!
“All the games we want. After that, the rest.” [outside football] That will come naturally, but my mood, my energy, is going to be a lot better, so that’s what I want.