Arsenal got a fitness boost on Sunday as defender Gabriel trained with his Brazil teammates.
The centre-back had given Arsenal a fright on Friday when he was substituted late in Brazil’s 5-1 win over Bolivia in World Cup qualification.
Gabriel, who was making his senior international debut in Belem, was later spotted resting on the bench with ice on his right leg.
However, the 25-year-old trained with the Brazil team as usual in Lima on Sunday ahead of their next qualifier against Peru on Tuesday, putting to rest suspicions that he had been injured.
The news comes as a huge relief for Arsenal, who have already been plagued by defensive injuries this season.
Summer signing Jurrien Timber suffered a devastating knee injury on his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest and will be out for several months following surgery.
Meanwhile, Thomas Partey is out with a groin injury, and manager Mikel Arteta stated earlier this month that the Ghanian international will be out for “weeks.”
Partey, a midfielder, had been playing at right-back in the early stages of the season, with Ben White partnering William Saliba in central defense.
However, in the dramatic late 3-1 win over Manchester United before the international break, White shifted back to right-back, with Gabriel returning to join Saliba in the middle – Arsenal’s familiar center-back partnership from last season’s title challenge – and the fit-again Oleksandr Zinchenko starting at left-back after short stints from the likes of Timber, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Jakub Kiwior.
Gabriel’s first fallout under Arteta was an unexpected subplot to Arsenal’s start to the new season, having started with Saliba in the Community Shield triumph against Manchester City at Wembley in early August.
