Mikel Arteta delivers worrying Gabriel injury update after Derby against Chelsea

Mikel Arteta admits that Arsenal are "a bit concerned" over Gabriel after he went off injured against Chelsea.

The Brazilian defender managed 85 minutes in Tuesday's emphatic 3-1 London derby win, as he attempted to play on after hurting his foot in the second half. Having gone down in pain multiple times, however, Gabriel eventually had to be substituted in place of Rob Holding, leaving Arteta without his two best centre-backs at a crucial point in the season.

Gabriel, 25, joins regular partner William Saliba, who may not feature again this term, and backup Takehiro Tomiyasu in the treatment room. Post-match, Arteta was asked to provide an update on the 25-year-old's condition and the Arsenal manager replied: "He wasn't comfortable.

"We tried for 10 or 15 minutes but he could not carry on which is strange for Gabi. So we are a bit concerned about that because normally he's not one who wants to leave the pitch", as per The Sun

Although Gabriel was in good spirits whilst back on the pitch after the full-time whistle, his absence could spell trouble for the Gunners, who've already felt the effects of not having Saliba in the back line. Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet in all seven of their games since the France international suffered a back injury, although there was a silver lining in Tuesday's victory.

Starting his first Premier League match following a £21million transfer from Italian side Spezia in January, Polish prospect Jakub Kiwior got the nod and produced an impressive performance. Operating on Gabriel's right, despite being left-footed, Kiwior showed why he deserved his chance after Holding's struggles against Premier League title rivals Manchester City last week.