The curse of hamstring injuries at Arsenal does not seem to end.
The excitement prior to their 2-1 victory over Fulham on Tuesday night centred on Bukayo Saka’s return.
His three-month absence because of a hamstring tear, which required surgery, had been sorely felt by the Gunners who have fell out of Premier League title contention in that time.
Yet the boost of seeing him substituted on in the 66th minute and scoring — his return garnered a reception fit for a royal from the home crowd — was dampened by what occurred in the first half. Gabriel, Arsenal’s shining light in the backline this season, had pulled up clutching the back of his right leg with a hamstring injury.
He ambled off the pitch and went straight down the tunnel. For the issue to have come so soon before their two-legged Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid, the first leg next Tuesday, is cruel. The north London club’s hopes were already somewhat circumspect.
The competition is the Gunners’ last real hope of silverware this season. Without Gabriel — it is hard to see him return in such a short timeframe — their chance of progression is badly slashed.
Arsenal’s Champions League hopes have been majorly slashed by Gabriel’s hamstring injury
The defender came off in the first half of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday night
Arsenal were boosted by the goalscoring return of Bukayo Saka, but Gabriel is a lynchpin
The injury reflects Arsenal’s season in many ways; a giant obstacle just at the moment when things seem to start moving in the right direction. And a hamstring once again being the issue.
Earlier in the season, Martin Odegaard’s ankle injury in September left a gaping hole in the midfield for two months. Mikel Arteta had to get creative centrally and shifted Thomas Partey to right back.
They eventually got Odegaard back in November, but then lost Saka to a hamstring injury in late December. To make matters worse, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus were to sustain injuries in the following six weeks after, Havertz too falling to a hamstring problem which has ruled him out for the season.
It has resulted in Mikel Merino being deployed as a makeshift number nine. In fairness, Merino has ably stepped up, striking six league goals thus far. But him playing as a striker was never the plan.
Now, the defence is badly compromised by the loss of Gabriel. His and William Saliba’s partnership has formed the bedrock of backline that has kept Arsenal largely afloat in the wake of injuries.
Ahead of their second leg against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League last 16, Saliba admitted that Gabriel has played better than him this season. He is that important to this team.
It begs the question: how much is player workload an influence on Arsenal’s spate of hamstring injuries?
Often this season, the luxury of rotation has not particularly been at Arteta’s disposal because of injuries. But the intensity of training, and rest and recovery lengths could well need to be looked at.
Arteta must negotiate a quarter-final clash with Real Madrid, starting at the Emirates next week
Hamstring injuries, and indeed absences in general, have been the bane of Arsenal’s season
Saka has only just returned from a three-month lay-off but looked no less a player and received a hearty reception
Arsenal still have William Saliba, but Gabriel has arguably been their best player this season
Jurrien Timber also came off injured in the second half as Arsenal cut the gap to Liverpool
The final word, though, must go to Saka, with the match narrative having centred around his return.
He looked sprightly in his cameo, darting down the right wing and jinking inside at pace, as he often does. His goal, a neat header on the back-post from Gabriel Martinelli’s flick on, capped off a good personal night for the winger. Recovering from surgery to full match fitness can be arduous, and even more so when you are such a key player for a team.
In the 16 games that the 23-year-old was available in the league for Arsenal, they scored 34 goals at a rate of 2.1 per game.
In the 13 that he missed, the Gunners scored 19 at a rate of 1.5 per match — that’s a big drop off.
Arteta, though, will for now be sleepless over when Gabriel will return.
