Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Arsenal injury update after Southampton loss as worrying photo emerges

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has issued a brief update on the fitness of Gabriel Magalhaes after the Brazilian defender was forced off through injury in Saturday's 2-1 FA Cup loss to Southampton.

The Gunners had the potential to complete a never-before-seen quadruple a couple of weekends ago, but Arteta's men are now just fighting on two fronts after the forgettable events of Saturday evening.

A makeshift Arsenal side were deservedly dumped out of the FA Cup in the quarter-finals, as Ross Stewart and Shea Charles struck for Southampton either side of a Viktor Gyokeres leveller at St Mary's.

A handful of Gunners players who withdrew from international duty in March were cleared to feature on the South Coast, as Gabriel Magalhaes made the first XI while Noni Madueke, Martin Zubimendi and William Saliba came off the bench.

However, Saliba's arrival was an enforced one due to an apparent knee issue for fellow centre-back Gabriel, who went down midway through the second half and could not continue.

The former Lille man was then seen with an ice pack strapped around his knee as he took his seat in the dugout, sparking fears of a fresh setback ahead of Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta gives Gabriel Magalhaes injury update after Arsenal loss to Southampton

? Gabriel is seen with ice on his thigh after he was subbed off due to an injury...

Gabriel, please, take my leg and be all right! ? pic.twitter.com/Ir7vtZ5Yn2
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) April 4, 2026

Asked by BBC Sport for an update on Gabriel's condition after the game, Arteta unsurprisingly kept his cards close to his chest, saying: "He couldn't continue so we're going to have to assess him."

Elaborating in his post-game press conference, Arteta added: "I don't know, he felt something. I don't know exactly what it is, but when a player is asking to be substituted it's never good news."

The Spaniard was also quizzed on Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard, three more players who withdrew from their national teams with mystery injuries, of which little detail has become publicly known.

Arteta did not rule any of the trio out of the trip to Sporting on Tuesday night, though, responding: "I hope that we can recover some of the players that we are missing."

Martin Odegaard also returned from a knee injury in Saturday's defeat, but Mikel Merino, Piero Hincapie and Eberechi Eze are all expected to remain on the sidelines for Tuesday's game.

Is Mikel Arteta to blame for Gabriel injury setback?

Arteta clearly did not trust Marli Salmon to start Saturday's quarter-final - justifiably given his shaky display at Mansfield Town - but starting Gabriel was perhaps a risk that he did not need to take.

Calafiori may have experienced international heartbreak with Italy, but the former Bologna man was seemingly fit and raring to go, and he would have been a viable option at left centre-back.

Calafiori and William Saliba could very well form the central defensive pairing in Portugal on Tuesday night, offering Myles Lewis-Skelly a shot at left-back redemption following a forgettable display on the South Coast.