Arsenal's Gabriel to miss rest of the season with hamstring injury, club confirm in huge blow to Champions League hopes

Arsenal will be without Gabriel for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign with the defender set to undergo surgery for a hamstring injury, the club confirmed on Thursday.

The Brazil defender has been a pivotal figure in defence for Arsenal this season, while offering a goalscoring presence from set pieces with five goals to his name this term.

He has made 42 appearances for Arsenal this season in all competitions, the most of any defender in the squad, and helped them maintain their record as the tightest defence in the league - conceding just 25 goals in 30 matches.

Gabriel pulled up clutching his hamstring during his side's 2-1 victory over Fulham on Tuesday, and was substituted after just 16 minutes for Jakub Kiwior.

"Further to being substituted during our match against Fulham on Tuesday, we can confirm that Gabriel Magalhaes has sustained a hamstring injury which requires surgery," the club statement read.

"Gabi will undergo a surgical repair procedure to his hamstring in the coming days, and immediately begin his recovery and rehabilitation programme, with the aim to be ready for the start of next season.

"Everyone at the club will be fully focused on supporting Gabi to ensure he is back to full fitness as soon as possible."

Fellow defender Jurrien Timber was also withdrawn through injury, as he was replaced by Leandro Trossard on 77 minutes. Mikel Arteta said after the match the players would undergo assessments on Wednesday.

"If there are two players in this team who never want to come off, it is probably those two," Arteta said after the match.

"Gabi felt something in his hamstring. We don't know how big that is. With Jurrien, he was already struggling very early in the game. He managed to continue but at one point he couldn't. Jurrien was his knee."

Gabriel's hamstring injury continues an unwanted theme for Arsenal this season. Bukayo Saka returned against Fulham after being sidelined since December with a hamstring issue, while an injury of similar nature has ruled out Kai Havertz for the rest of the season.

The Gunners enter a crucial period of their season as they hunt a maiden UEFA Champions League title, facing Real Madrid in the quarter-final on April 8 and 16.