Arteta hints Arsenal could’ve suffered ANOTHER injury blow in Sporting victory

Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Arsenal's latest injury setback following his side's dominant 5-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

The Gunners went into the match on the back of a confidence-boosting 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, ending a run of three games without a win.

And they made the Portuguese champions look rather ordinary on Tuesday night, securing their biggest away win in the Champions League since beating Inter Milan in 2003.

Mikel Arteta's side led from the seventh minute and, apart from a spell of pressure early in the second half, they blew away Sporting to inflict their first defeat of the season.

Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard sent Arsenal on their way to a much-needed first Champions League win away from home since Sevilla in October 2023.

The mood soured somewhat when Gabriel trudged off after 84 minutes and now Arteta has revealed the extent of the centre-back's latest injury.

He said, “We had to make the change for Gabriel because he was feeling a little uncomfortable.”

The Brazilian's latest defeat represents yet another setback to his season after he was forced off in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Liverpool last month.

That day the blow appeared to come after a collision with Darwin Nunez appeared to knock Gabriel's left knee and the defender was later spotted by TV cameras on the substitutes' bench with his knee badly frozen.

He made a remarkable recovery from the injury, only missing the Gunners' EFL Cup match against Preston before returning just a week later for a 1–0 defeat to Newcastle.

The defeat was Arsenal's second away from home in the competition and was followed by a 1–0 defeat to Inter Milan and a frustrating stalemate at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

But the Gunners appear to be turning things around, with their upturn in form largely influenced by the easing of the injury crisis and, in particular, the return of captain and Martin Odegaard.

The Norwegian had the show against Forest, creating a string of chances and showing typical confidence on the ball as Arsenal cruised to victory without the away side having a single shot on target.

Saka and Thomas Partey both scored great goals in the Emirates before Ethan Nwaneri scored his first Premier League goal to wrap up the match.

Last night's win was even more impressive, especially considering Sporting's convincing 4-1 win over Manchester City just three weeks earlier.

A flowing move down the right seven minutes later ended with Jurrien Timber fizzing a ball across the six-yard box, causing all kinds of problems for Sporting's defence, goalkeeper Franco Israel startled by Havertz's presence and Martinelli waiting at the back to strike. .

One quickly became two. Partey played a lovely pass to Saka in the 20th minute, who immediately squared the England international to Havertz. Another tap, this one gave Havertz the 100th club goal of his career.

Declan Rice then leaned into a corner and Gabriel weaved through a crowd of players to power in a header that immediately muted the shrill sound of 40,000 Portuguese whistles to seal victory.

Arsenal soon got a reminder not to be too complacent. A shot in the opening minute of the second period from Hidemasa Morita saw David Raya strain to push the ball wide, but the danger was not averted; from the resulting corner, Goncalo Inacio cracked a drive past the Spaniard.

How Arteta needed his team to counter-punch their own and they did so in the 64th minute. Odegaard had advanced, but his path towards goal was rudely ended by Ousmane Diomande, the defender lucky enough to be on the pitch after a fifth-minute booking.

Szymon Marciniak, the Polish referee, pointed to the spot and Saka did the rest. The shine was added in the 82nd minute, when substitute Trossard headed in from close range.