Gabriel is injured, Arsenal faces the ultimate test: will this championship collapse?

This season, Arsenal has been built into a team with a strong lineup. If you want to ask who is the most irreplaceable in the Gunners team now, the answer is no longer blurted out as "Saka" like in the past. Maduekai, who joined in the summer window, has significantly diverted the load on the right side - Saka has only started 11 of 17 games this season, but Arsenal still tops the Premier League and maintains a complete victory in the Champions League.

Captain Odegaard has only started 5 games. Havertz has only played 30 minutes so far this season. Even Saliba, who almost brought down the championship battleship due to a back injury at the end of the 2022-23 season, has been substituted 4 times. The only players who have played full attendance in 17 games this season are Rice and Gabriel. In terms of influence, the two are already the "dual cores" of Arteta's system.

Now, the Brazilian central defender's thigh injury will undergo final evaluation; many media are worried that he will need to rest for "4-6 weeks" and may even "not be able to return until January next year." This weekend's north London derby against Tottenham, followed by Bayern and Chelsea next week - the real test of the squad's depth is coming.

"Gabriel is one of the best central defenders in the world today." Arteta was generous in his praise. He is the key to both offensive and defensive ends of set pieces: he has been directly involved in 5 goals this season (2 goals and 3 assists), second only to 4 people in the team; at the Premier League level, he ranks first in the team in air control, blocking, and clearance.

"He is a defensive giant who can create a set-piece threat in every game. In my opinion, he is now the most dominant player in the Premier League. If Arsenal finally wins the championship, he will be the number one favorite for the PFA Award of the Year." - Carragher commented last month.

In addition to statistics, his "hidden assets" are more difficult to replace: passion, roaring, front-end defense; celebrations after key tackles are crazier than goals; "hot and cold complementarity" with Saliba - a fierce attack, an elegant complement, the tacit cooperation between the two has become a feature.

In the last 12 games of last season, Gabriel was absent due to injury. The Gunners only won 5 games. Substitute Chiviol has been rented to Porto this summer. This time, the replacement list for Gabriel has been replaced by Mosquera, Incapie and possibly Calafioli. Compared to Chiviol, these three people are obviously stronger. Especially Moskrahoin Kapier, they have proven themselves in the central defender position. This time, they will shoulder the heavy responsibility of the team's defense, otherwise the collapse script of the past two seasons may be repeated again.