Mikel Arteta reveals valuable Arsenal plan for injured Gabriel | OneFootball

Key Gunners defender will still be influential despite fitness setback before Spurs clash in north London derby

Mikel Arteta has revealed that he will keep Gabriel around the Arsenal squad during his injury absence so that they can call upon his leadership.

The Arsenal boss has described Gabriel’s absence as a “blow” but he will keep him close to his team-mates over the coming period.

“The fact that you cannot play or train doesn’t mean that you cannot do all the other activities and add value to the team,” said Arteta. “He’s going to be very close to the team.

“Obviously he’s a big, big player for us but the good thing is that we have experienced that.

“Last year, in the most crucial moment of the season, we were without him for three months and the team managed to remain super competitive.

“We won a lot of matches, we were defensively really good against very, very tough opponents, so we need to do it again.

“Every player brings specific qualities and Gabi’s is his leadership, his presence and that love that he has to defend, and to transmit as well, his body language to other players.

“We have to do it and we have to spread that. People will step up, we’ve done it in the past, many, many times unfortunately.

“We played last year, the biggest and most prominent part of the season without him as well, and the team was able to cope with that.”