Huge Arsenal blow as Gabriel Magalhaes forced off in Liverpool clash to deepen defensive crisis

GABRIEL MAGALHAES has become the latest Arsenal player to fall foul of injury.

The defender was forced off the pitch during the Sunday afternoon clash between the Gunners and Liverpool at the Emirates.

GettyGabriel is the latest Arsenal injury set to cause Mikel Arteta a headache[/caption]

GettyHe was forced to leave the pitch following a tussle with Darwin Nunez which left him grimacing[/caption]

ReutersGabriel could be out for at least six weeks depending on the severity of the injury[/caption]

Mikel Arteta‘s defensive options had already been depleted with injuries to Riccardo Calafiori, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney and the suspension of William Saliba.

However, following a second-half tussle with Darwin Nunez, Gabriel appeared to feel something and was then seen grimacing.

He then fell to the floor in pain before receiving treatment to try and help him to carry on.

But it proved to be ineffective, and Gabriel was taken off through injury in the 54th minute and replaced by Jakub Kiwior.

The knock was reported to be a knee injury sustained after it was jolted during his duel with Nunez.

Footage of Gabriel while receiving treatment saw him holding his left knee, seemingly confirming this assessment as the club doctor also checked for a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury.

He was able to walk off the pitch and down the tunnel, but could now face weeks on the sideline.

If Gabriel has suffered an MCL injury, then the amount of time he will miss will depend on the grade of the blow.

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A grade 1 issue will heal within 1-3 weeks while a grade 2 could take between four and six weeks and a grade 3 will take at least six with proper treatment.

Jurrien Timber then added to these problems when he was replaced by teen Myles Lewis-Skelly in the 75th minute after the Dutchman was also forced to the floor with injury and received treatment.

Gabriel returned to the pitch later on to see out the remainder of the match.

While Arteta will see the return of Saliba following his one-game suspension, Calafiori, Tomiyasu and Tierney remain out.

Arsenal were also dealing with knocks to Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka before the Liverpool game.

However, star player Saka was deemed fit enough to play before he opened the scoring with a vicious close-range shot after ten minutes.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk scored from a set-play to level the score.

But the hosts responded with a free-kick of their own as Declan Rice‘s superb free-kick was headed home by Mikel Merino shortly before half-time, and then confirmed following a lengthy VAR check for offside.

Liverpool equalised for a second time in the 81st minute through Mohamed Salah.

Arsenal did get the ball in the net through Gabriel Jesus in injury time, but the goal was ruled out for a foul earlier in the move.

The result leaves Liverpool a point behind Manchester City at the top of the table, while Arsenal are now five adrift of the league leaders.

GettyJurrien Timber was also forced off through injury[/caption]

Gabriel returned to the Arsenal bench later on