Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 at the Emirates on Saturday to move level on points with Manchester City at the top of the table, but for a moment early in the second half, it looked as though the win might come at a cost.

Gabriel Magalhaes slipped while clearing a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cross and went down holding his leg. He received treatment on the pitch, and Cristhian Mosquera was sent to warm up. With Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and especially William Saliba already sidelined, it was the last thing Arsenal needed.

Mikel Arteta admits how worried Arsenal were about Gabriel

Speaking to the BBC after the game, Mikel Arteta admitted everyone feared the worst.

“We all [thought he would have to come off] by the reaction of his team-mates,” Arteta said. “It was a really worrying action. We know Gabi and how tough and strong he is – and he seems to be OK.”

Paul Merson was just as concerned watching on. Speaking on Sky Sports News, he said his biggest worry with an injury like that is when a player stays still rather than rolling around, adding: “Gabriel virtually got changed straight away. That’s how worrying it was.”

Instead, Gabriel went through some stretches on the touchline, returned to the pitch and showed no signs of discomfort. Moments after Arteta’s triple change in the 68th minute, he headed home Ben White’s cross to make it 2-0, on his 200th Premier League appearance.

It capped off a big afternoon for both of Arsenal’s centre-backs. Ezri Konsa had opened the scoring in the seventh minute with his first goal for the club, meaning two Arsenal centre-backs scored in the same game for the first time since February 2024. After the game, Konsa paid tribute to his partner, saying Gabriel has made his life easy since he arrived.

Arteta will be relieved Gabriel is okay. The Brazilian has featured in all 13 of Arsenal’s competitive games this season, so Tuesday’s Carabao Cup trip to Fleetwood Town could be a good chance to rest him before the visit to Liverpool next Sunday.