The Brazilian defender was stretchered off in Sunday’s friendly against Manchester City.
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Arsene Wenger has told talkSPORT that Arsenal will have to find an “internal solution” to their centre-back problem for Sunday’s Premier League opener, despite suggestions a deal for Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi is close. “It’s an ankle sprain”.
The Gunners are facing a defensive crisis ahead of their Premier League opener against Liverpool on Sunday, with centre-backs Gabriel Paulista (ankle) joined Per Mertesacker (knee) now on the treatment table.
If Wenger keeps our team in the top four this season with our squad, then I will eat my hat, but the transfer window is still open, and there has to be more signings.
The Arsenal boss said: “Where you could approximately value a player before, today the identity of a club that comes in for a transfer is far more important than the rest”. Let’s hope we have good news from Gabriel.
“[Laurent] Koscielny will be back very soon but with Mertesacker and Gabriel being out for a while it’s vital they get someone in now”.
With Per Mertesacker ruled out until the new year and Gabriel sidelined for six to eight weeks, Wenger surely needs to sign a defender in the coming days or weeks.
A version of this article appears in print on August 09, 2016 of The Himalayan Times.
This could see Holding partnered with Calum Chambers at the heart of defence, while Krystian Bielik is also an option.
It means 20-year-old Rob Holding, who was brought in from Bolton last month, could be handed an early competitive debut, unless Wenger decides to move left-back Nacho Monreal into the centre.
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Liverpool, meanwhile, have been one of the busiest Premier League clubs after Netherlands global Georginio Wijnaldum was Jurgen Klopp’s seventh summer signing last month as the German head coach gives his Reds squad a face lift.
