Mikel Arteta on what Arsenal are “missing” after disappointing draw vs Fulham

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that his team are missing the injured Gabriel Magalhaes at the moment after yesterday’s disappointing 1-1 draw away to Fulham.

The Gunners are running out of time to close the gap on runaway league leaders Liverpool, and missed a big opportunity to do so yesterday as they had to settle for a point at Craven Cottage.

Arteta won’t have been happy after the game, particularly as Gabriel Martinelli should have done so much better to stay onside for that Bukayo Saka goal that ended up being disallowed after a VAR check.

Speaking after the game, Arteta answered “yes” to a question about missing Gabriel’s influence at the back, even if William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior have played pretty well in the Brazilian’s absence.

Any team would miss a top player like Gabriel, though Arteta didn’t seem too keen to rely on it as an excuse.

Mikel Arteta responds to Gabriel Magalhaes question

“Yes (we miss Gabriel), but I’m really pleased with the performance of Jakub (Kiwior) and we had to change the whole unit as well,” Arteta said.

“We had Jakub there and Jurrien (Timber) on the left which we’ve never played before and Thomas (Partey) as a full back, and okay he does it.

“Jorgi comes in and he was excellent. That’s it, they were not available and we have to respond to that and I’m very happy with the way the team did.”

Arsenal fans might now be thinking about how to buy tickets for Arsenal vs Everton, which will no doubt be another crucial game in this busy festive period to tell us just how seriously we can take the Gunners as title contenders.

Arteta and co. can’t really afford any more slip-ups, while they also need to hope Liverpool can drop points at some stage, after looking vulnerable in that 3-3 draw with Newcastle last week.

The Reds then had their game against Everton postponed due to the weather issues in some parts of the UK, so Arsenal could have gone within just four points of them if they’d beaten Fulham.

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