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Arsenal have confirmed star defender Gabriel Magalhaes will miss the remainder of the season through injury.
The Brazil international was stretchered off the field early on in their 2-1 win over Fulham at the Emirates Stadium on April 1.
However, the club have since confirmed Gabriel now requires hamstring surgery and will be out of action until the start of the 2025/26 campaign.
The 28-year-old has been one of the first names on the team sheet for Mikel Arteta throughout the season and the Spaniard now faces a dilemma over who to bring in to fill the void left by his towering No.6.
Who will replace Gabriel in Arsenal's defence?
Arteta has a few options up his sleeve and it will be interesting to see which route he takes ahead of their UEFA Champions League double-header with against Real Madrid later this month.
Jakub Kiwior is the obvious choice for the Arsenal manager. The Polish defender replaced Gabriel in the Fulham win, and the 25-year-old remains highly rated by his boss, despite a limited role in 2024/25.
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There other options on the agenda for Arteta, but fitness issues remain as a wider concern. Jurrien Timber and Ben White can both cover in central defence, but the former missed the Fulham game with a minor injury and Arteta needs to assess his readiness in the coming days.
Timber's availability is also a key point of focus, as he was also forced off the in the first half against the Cottagers - but the Dutch international is ahead of White in his recovery - and should start at Everton this weekend ahead of the first clash with Carlo Ancelotti's side on April 8.
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Gabriel's Arsenal stats 2024/25: Games played, goals, clean sheet record
Arsenal fans will be hoping Arteta gets his replacement call spot ahead of their season-defining battles with Real Madrid.
Gabriel has started 28 of Arsenal's 30 Premier League games so far in 2024/25 and completed 90 minutes in 25 of them at the heart of Arteta's backline.
26 of those games have come alongside his first-choice center-back partner William Saliba, at the base of Arsenal's defence, with just three league losses recorded with the pair as starters, and 10 EPL clean sheets for Gabriel.
Arsenal have also conceded the fewest Premier League this season, with 25 from those 30 matches, and 22 of them let in with Gabriel still on the pitch.
The 27-year-old has also started nine of Arsenal's 10 UCL matches with the full game completed on eight occasions plus four clean sheets in European action.
The former Lille star has also matched his best-ever seasonal goal tally, with five scored, just as he did in 2021/22.
Across all competitions, Arsenal boast a 64% win rate with Gabriel in their starting XI - since his debut in September 2020 - with a 44% win rate in his absence.
MORE: Arsenal chief triggers agent talks on huge La Liga transfer target
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