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Much of Arsenal's success this season has been built on its phenomenal defense. Jurrien Timber, Gabriel Magalhães, William Saliba, and Riccardo Calafiori have been the back line that has seen the Gunners reach the summit of the current Premier League table.
Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, both his center-backs are now injured. Gabriel picked up an injury on international duty, whilst Saliba missed the match with Chelsea last weekend due to receiving a knock in training.
The journalist, Sam Dean, of the Daily Telegraph has quoted Arteta's injury updates on X. He wrote that the situation for Saliba and Leandro Trossard is "A matter of days," whilst for Kai Havertz and Gabriel it is "A matter of weeks."
Trossard also missed the match with Chelsea due to an ankle problem. Havertz has been out since the opening day of the Premier League season with a knee injury. However, Viktor Gyökeres returned against the Blues, whilst Gabriel Jesus made the bench in the fixture.
It was disappointing for Arsenal that they left Stamford Bridge with just a point last Sunday. They were up against a Chelsea side down to 10 men after Moises Caicedo was sent off, and only drew 1-1.
Arsenal will need their key defenders fit if they are to win the Premier League
With Gabriel and Saliba missing, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié filled in at center back for Arsenal. They did well, but Chelsea could not threaten as much as they could have done, as they were a player down.
It looks like Mosquera and Hincapié will be Arsenal's center-back pairing for their home match against Brentford tomorrow. This is not ideal for the Gunners; they knew that Gabriel was going to be missing for a while, but to have Saliba out again as well is frustrating.
Brentford have shown that they can beat the top Premier League sides this season. They have already defeated the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Aston Villa. However, Keith Andrews' side is inconsistent, which is why they are 10th in the league.
Arsenal have now drawn two out of their last three Premier League games. They cannot afford too many more slip-ups if they are to win the title this season. The Gunners only have a five-point lead over Manchester City in the division. This weekend's fixture against Brentford could be a potential banana skin with key players such as Saliba missing.