Can Arsenal take down Real Madrid without Gabriel?

New York Times

04-04-2025

Arsenal's 2-1 win over Fulham at the Emirates on Tuesday was bittersweet. Despite Bukayo Saka returning after three months out and scoring just seven minutes after coming on, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber were both forced off through injury.
Mikel Arteta's side visit Everton on Saturday lunchtime, but they will have one eye on their massive Champions League quarter-final clash next Tuesday, as holders Real Madrid travel to north London.
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With Gabriel now out for the season and Timber, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori all under evaluation, Arteta faces a defensive injury crisis ahead of Arsenal's biggest game of the season.
On Wednesday's episode of Handbrake Off, Ian Stone, Adrian Clarke and James McNicholas discussed Arsenal's chances of taking down Madrid amid their injury woes.
A partial transcript of his interview has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on the Handbrake Off feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
James: Unfortunately, we've become very accustomed to seeing what hamstring injuries look like at Arsenal this season and Gabriel is another one. The disappointment was written large on his face because I think every footballer knows that when your hamstring goes, you're looking at an extended period on the sidelines.
Ian: He just doesn't deserve to miss the Real Madrid game in terms of the way he's played and what he's given to the club. This is the biggest game we've had in quite a few seasons and he deserved to be on that pitch.
James: Definitely. It would have been a massive game for him personally, too, because this is a game where he would have been coming up against some top Brazilian talent as well. It will be a game that's massive in Brazil and I'm sure many people over there will be watching. He actually missed the second international game during the break because he was suspended. He played against Colombia and was suspended for Brazil's game against Argentina. Collectively as a fan base, we were like, 'That's great news, we'll get him back early and he'll be well-rested.' Then sod's law and something like this happens.
I also think for Arsenal, the reason it's so disappointing is that when I think of that Real Madrid tie, every iteration and scenario that I play out in my mind, which has Arsenal coming out on top, is reliant on the defensive foundation that Gabriel and William Saliba provide. That really was the foothold that was making me feel like we had a chance here. Without that, I think it's going to be extremely tough.
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Looking at the broader picture, it's not just Gabriel that we've got concerns over. Jurrien Timber took a couple of knocks against Fulham, Ben White wasn't fit to be in the squad, and Riccardo Calafiori was absent with an injury sustained on international duty. So once again, we have a part of the pitch that has been struck by several injuries simultaneously.
Ian: Adrian, with the defence, whenever I looked at the Madrid game, I thought, 'You know what? They've got an unbelievable team and a brilliant attack, but we've got a brilliant defence.' But that central defensive partnership was such a huge part of that. And as James mentioned, we don't know Timber's status. He went down injured early, stayed on and then he limped off a bit later in the game. We're really short of defenders now and it just reduces our chances of getting through, doesn't it?
Adrian: I think it does, and probably quite substantially, too, because Gabriel and Saliba are a fantastic combination. Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham are an awesome forward line, but most Arsenal fans would have trusted those two to handle them as best as they possibly could and even potentially dominate someone like Mbappe. But it's going to be really difficult now. What does Mikel Arteta do? Does he rush Calafiori back? Does he give Ben White game time at the weekend in a bid to try to get him up to speed? I'm more optimistic about Timber because it felt like it was more of a contact injury, hopefully it was just a dead leg or something above his knee.
Ian: Would you play Timber at centre-half?
Adrian: I'd probably play White at centre-half and stick with Timber at right-back. If White's fit enough, I would go with White and Saliba at centre-half if Calafiori isn't right. Even though Jakub Kiwior did some good things in the Fulham game, Real Madrid is football at the very highest level and I just feel like he could get found out. He made one or two mistakes against Fulham. You look at the big miss from Rodrigo Muniz where he left him unmarked inside the box after losing his position. There were also a couple of other instances where he took a heavy touch that Adama Traore was able to run on to…
Ian: Traore's very quick, though, isn't he?
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Adrian: He is very quick, but so are Mbappe and Vinicius Jr! So I think in Mikel Arteta's head, he'll be really hoping that White or Calafiori can come good just in time. But whether or not that happens, we'll see.
You can listen to full episodes of Handbrake Off for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.