Gabriel Magalhaes breaks silence on Arsenal injury as Mikel Arteta faces anxious West Ham wait

Gabriel Magalhaes has taken to social media after the Arsenal defender was forced off late with injury against Sporting CP. The centre-back was immense as the Gunners smashed five past the Portuguese side on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard ensured Mikel Arteta's side ran out 5-1 winners, propelling the north Londoners into seventh in the league phase table. With such a hectic run of games coming up, though, it was a worry to see Gabriel limp off and be replaced by Jakub Kiwior with just over five minutes to go at the Estádio José Alvalade.

"We don’t know. We had to make the change because he was feeling some discomfort," Arteta said after the match when asked for an update on Gabriel. "I was about to make the change for Raz [Raheem Sterling], poor thing, I couldn’t make the sub. We had to get him out."

All concerned with Arsenal will be hoping Gabriel is fit for Saturday's Premier League trip to West Ham. The Brazilian seemed to be in good spirits after the match against Sporting and took to Instagram to break his silence amid the injury concerns.

Alongside a picture of himself and his teammates celebrating his headed first half goal, Gabriel wrote: "Amazing energy from the team and our supporters!! On to the next!! [love heart emoji] [fire emoji]."

Gabriel also added a picture of himself and Declan Rice on the pitch to his Instagram Story, as well as even more images of him celebrating his goal. In one of the images, he can be seen making the letter 'M' with his fingers, which is a nod to his young daughter Maya, who he also mentioned on his Instagram Story.

Next up for Arsenal, the Gunners travel to London Stadium to take on West Ham in the Saturday evening kick-off and all eyes will be on how Gabriel recovers from the knock picked up against Sporting. After West Ham, Arsenal face the likes of Manchester United, Everton and Crystal Palace as they prepare for seven games throughout December.

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