Friends, I had to have oral surgery after my last batch was cut because I drank a cup of tea. Getting teeth removed in your 40s is like accepting a 20-year-old’s work invitation to PowerLeague. Everything hurts worse and recovery is slower.
But…teeth cannot bear my words.
Rumor has it that Big Gabi is feeling that line on the long recovery stretch.
There are two ways you can look at this:
It’s just one of those things.
Footballers love international football. It has lost a bit of its appeal here, but it is still a huge draw in many countries that don’t have the best competition in the world to watch every week. Big Gabi would always want to turn up at a friendly in London, despite feeling the pinch for Sunderland and having to train alone for the match. This is football, all clubs get injuries, we just have to accept that we get more than most clubs.
Should have known better.
Big Gabi is the best centre-back in the Premier League. He is currently the best central defender in Brazil. He is more powerful than anyone on the team, he is a great passer, his defense is intense and he almost never makes mistakes. Add to that his outrageous threat from corners and you have a player you can’t have in your starting XI for the 2026 World Cup.
If you’re that good, shouldn’t you prioritize a season of full fitness for your club? What sends a bigger message: a good match against Senegal, or winning the Champions League for Arsenal and having a star role? Ask Thomas Tuchel what he thinks.
If he was struggling, he should have sat out the international break and gambled on being good enough in our central defense to make it impossible to ignore him next season.
I have an Arsenal bias here. To me it’s crazy that he took a risk with his fitness and now he’s going to miss a huge chunk of games during the most important part of the season.
I’m allowed to be emotional here.
Gabriel could also rest on the pretty strong defense that suggests players sprint harder, play more minutes and get less rest between seasons. His injury is part of a worrying pattern across the leagues of players unable to handle the rigors of a game that needs more matches to survive, to find the mega contracts all these players want.
Now the question on Thursday is what Mikel Arteta has in mind for the Spurs match.
He has a number of options:
Major disruption, electric sauce
The most disruptive thing Arteta can do is bring Mosquera into the lineup as a defender on the right, and slot Bill Saliba alongside him. That disrupts two positions, which is not ideal, and he plays Saliba out of position.
Why we like this: We’ve already seen it. Mosquera is our most experienced Arsenal centre-back currently fit. The Spaniard is also very big, so you don’t lose much in air dominance.
Spicy, but new
Okay, we’re going to move Calafiori to his favorite position, which is left center back… then we’re going to deploy Hincapie at left back for a huge play that requires concentration and aggression.
Why we like it: Calafiori is a very big central defender, he gives us better passing and he is more dangerous when floating through midfield than Gabriel. It also maintains our threat from set pieces. Hincapie has been in good form for Arsenal and I think he can provide a touch of unpredictability with some of those nice runs. Don’t underestimate his death either, he has those moonrakers like Ben White.
Familiar, but risky
The MLS will take the biggest write-off this season. He’s lost some of that unexpectedness and he’s showing some signs that he still has a lot to work on. He has not been in good form since the end of last season. Yellow cards, ball possession and falling out of favor with Calafiori. Tuchel told him he has to play if he wants the World Cup. Top-flight teenagers sometimes need a bit of dressing up to ground them, and Arteta may sense that putting a Hale Ender in the mix for a mega Derby in North London to prove himself could lead to a MoTM appearance. If we were to do this, I wonder if it would be too much of a risk to play Calafiori alongside him, who could see the first pairing I suggested.
For me, the most important thing is that we have an abundance of talent here.
Matt Kandela went so far as to suggest in our latest podcast that we might have more passing power without big Gabs?
Too much on the key of hope? Maybe.
Okay, that’s all I have for you today. Jacob and Matt will be back later today for the therapy session. Should be a fun one. Real football is back, my friends. I can’t wait. X
Podcast
MIDWEEK DEBRIEF | INJURY CRISIS CONTINUES
Arsenal are about to enter a seismic week and the boys are jumping on the mics to explain everything. Traces in the house. Bayern in the Emirates. Chelsea away. Three games that could shape the entire season.
#NIGHTMARE #CENTER #DEAL