Arsenal injury updates: Mikel Arteta provides latest on Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori & Martin Odegaard

Arsenal may have not started Sunday's game against Liverpool with an injury crisis as such, but, by the end, the Gunners looked as if they were entering that territory.

Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber were included in the starting XI following yet another masterclass in information ambiguity from Mikel Arteta, and the former played a huge role in his side's impressive first-half display before injuries took their toll after the restart.

The departures of Gabriel and Timber in the second half may well have cost Arsenal two Premier League points, but it also meant Arteta was a busy boy in his pre-match presser ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Preston.

Fortunately, the boss was on hand to provide several positive updates. Here's the rundown of what the Spaniard said.

Gabriel

Arteta offered little on Gabriel immediately after the Liverpool draw, with the Brazilian defender, who's rarely ever injured, being withdrawn 54 minutes into the game because of what looked like a knee injury.

He was pictured with ice on his left knee as the Gunners attempted to see out the game, but a Mohamed Salah equaliser late on meant the visitors shared the spoils.

Gabriel has been a mainstay in Arsenal's backline over the past 12 months, and while he likely won't play a part at Deepdale on Wednesday, Arteta suggested the defender's injury is nothing to worry about.

“We are still assessing him, it doesn’t look bad at all,” the boss explained (via arsenal.com). “He was much better than expected, so hopefully he’ll be fine.”

We'll see ya on Tyneside, big man.

Jurrien Timber

Timber returned to the starting XI following a couple of weeks out due to a muscle injury sustained during the 2-0 win over PSG at the start of the month.

The Dutchman duelled fiercely with Salah all afternoon, defending well for the most part but struggling to find his usual rhythm in possession. He succumbed after Gabriel with 15 minutes remaining, and Arteta confirmed that Timber was merely suffering from fatigue.

“Jurrien is fine,” he said. “He was very tired, he had been out for a while and could not continue the game but there is no new injury there."

Like Gabriel, Timber is unlikely to play a part on Wednesday, but we should see him in Saturday's starting XI against Newcastle.

Martin Odegaard

Arsenal have been without their captain since the September international break, and while some pseudo-intellectuals would like to believe the Gunners are better off without their creative talisman, recent outings have proven that not to be the case.

Fortunately, Odegaard is edging closer to a comeback with Arteta hopeful he can make his return before the November international break. The skipper has been training on the grass for the past couple of weeks and will step up his recovery before Saturday's game.

Arteta said Odegaard still has a "few boxes to tick", but there's no doubt that we're closing in on seeing the Nordic playmaker in action once more.

Riccardo Calafiori

There was less optimism surrounding the knee injury sustained by Calafiori during the drab 1-0 victory over Shakhtar Donetsk last week.

The Italian has a nasty history of knee injuries, so the club will be cautious over this setback. Calafiori was absent on Sunday and Arteta believes the versatile defender will miss a "few weeks" as a result of the injury.

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