Arsene Wenger revealed Arsenal’s team news ahead of the Chelsea match in this week’s press conference.
Per Mertesacker, who picked up an ankle injury against our FA Cup semi-final tie against Reading last weekend, is in doubt for our game against the Blues with a sprained ankle.
Speaking about the big German, the boss said, “Mertesacker is 50-50 at the moment. He has not practised at all.”
Wenger also explained how, although he’s returned to training, Mikel Arteta is unlikely to feature in the London derby and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still out with his ongoing groin injury.
Fortunately, the Arsenal manager didn’t raise any other issues in terms of injuries and therefore we should have a pretty strong team ready for the match on Sunday.
Gabriel has proven before that he can slot in efficiently at centreback and is more than cut-out for the Premier League, so he’ll relish the chance to get involved in such an important match.
With the likes of Francis Coquelin still strong and other players in form, the lack of Mikel Arteta in the squad won’t be an issue either.