Arsenal’s Gabriel Paulista picked up an injury in Sunday’s friendly win over Manchester City, but has revealed that he now hopes to return sooner than previously expected.
Per Mertesacker has already been ruled out with injury for five months, while Laurent Koscielny is yet to return from his holiday due to an extended run in the European Championships this summer, and the Brazilian defender had looked like he was going to be ruled out for the weekend’s Premier League opener also.
The defender had been giving Gunners fans a head-ache with the prospect of starting the season with inexperienced duo Rob Holding and Calum Chambers at centre-back against Liverpool this weekend, but Gabriel may well be able to feature, but an official return date is yet to be announced.
He doesn’t claim that he will be ready to return as early as the weekend, but he says he is feeling good, and we can only hope that he can take the pressure off of the younger pair.
Liverpool have looked sharp so far in pre-season, as has our beloved club, and should Gabriel not feature, there still remains hope that we could land a new defender before the weekend.
Reports are claiming we are set to launch a £30 Million bid to bring in Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia, in hope of having him in line to start this weekend, but with little time to build an understanding with his fellow defenders, it could also pose a risky move.
Would you rather see a new signing rushed into the side or rely on the young English duo? Or should we simply play Gibbs in the left-back role and field Nacho Monreal in the centre as we did last term?
Gooner P