Gabriel out for up to 2 months, how Arsenal should manage it

Arsenal’s title challenge has taken an unwelcome hit with Gabriel facing up to two months out, and the conversations around how Mikel Arteta should cover his absence have been interesting to say the least.

Here’s my quick take on how we can manage this setback successfully.

The loudest suggestion seems to be playing Cristhian Mosquera at left centre-back, but that idea should be the last resort in my view.

Mosquera is an exciting signing, but shifting him to the left would send a strange message about squad planning. It would effectively imply Arsenal have three £40m-plus left-backs - Myles Lewis-Skelly, Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapié. That simply isn’t the case - the latter two are major resources centrally, too.

The aerial issue is another red flag. Neither Mosquera nor William Saliba are dominant in the air, and fielding them together in the heart of defence would leave Arsenal unusually vulnerable to crosses and long balls.

Premier League sides would finally have a weakness to target. And critically, Mosquera is going to be needed to ease Saliba’s minutes on the right side over the coming months.

With European football returning and Jurrien Timber also needing intelligent rotation at right-back, there’s no need to misuse one of Arsenal’s most promising right-sided defenders on the opposite side, when we have so much fresh resource on the left.

The better solution is already in the building. With Gabriel out, Arsenal should lean on their actual left-sided defenders, using both Calafiori and Hincapié in complementary ways while giving Lewis-Skelly meaningful minutes.

The cleanest starting point is Calafiori at left centre-back. It reduces the physical load compared to his roaming left-back role, keeps his elite ball progression centralised and allows him to step into midfield in that Guardiola-style hybrid role Arteta showed he was capable of leaning into when Saliba did it against Slavia Prague recently. With Calafiori staying inside, Hincapié can take up the left-back position, offering width and balance while remaining defensively secure.

The second pairing is just as compelling: Hincapié at left centre-back with Lewis-Skelly at left-back. It plays into Hincapié’s comfort sweeping behind an aggressive full-back, while allowing Lewis-Skelly to drift into midfield as he naturally does. When the youngster pushes high or moves into central combinations, Hincapié is well-suited to covering the wide defensive corridor.

This rotation – Calafiori LCB with Hincapié LB, and Hincapié LCB with Lewis-Skelly LB – uses the depth Arsenal have intentionally built, protects Mosquera’s development path on the right, and maintains balance during a crucial phase of the season. It’s a structural tweak, not a compromise, and the most logical way to navigate Gabriel’s absence without creating new problems.