Gabriel sends cryptic message amid Arsenal injury fear after missing Monaco win

Gabriel Magalhaes has issued a cryptic message after he missed Arsenal's 3-0 win over Monaco on Wednesday due to injury. The Brazilian has not featured since coming off at half-time during the 5-2 thumping of West Ham last month and has sat out the last three matches.

Mikel Arteta provided hope that Gabriel could return for the clash with the Ligue 1 side in the Champions League, but the 26-year-old centre-back didn't even make the matchday squad. Instead, Gabriel - as he was for the 2-0 win against Manchester United last week - was spotted with his teammates on the sidelines.

After the game, Gabriel then decided to take to Instagram to post two mysterious images of him at the Emirates Stadium. He didn't include a caption, sparking more confusion about his condition and when he might return to action after Arteta has been keeping his cards close to his chest on the defender.

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Despite this, it doesn't feel as Gabriel is far away from a return to action. He was pictured taking part in a personal training session - including jumping and stretching - earlier this week. The Brazil international could be back for the visit of Everton on Saturday but it's still uncertain.

Regardless of this, Arsenal strolled to a routine win over Monaco to move one step closer to securing automatic qualification for the Champions League last 16. The Gunners were 3-0 winners thanks to a Bukayo Saka brace and a late strike from Kai Havertz. The result ensures Arteta's side head into the final two league phase matches after Christmas THIRD in the table on 13 points from their six matches.

Reacting to the win, Arteta said: "I think we are enjoying our run, we keep learning. Today’s a lot of learnings to take from this game, from the experience, learning from the team and obviously we need much more.

"We need to go through certain moments, and I’m sure we will in the near future, but the fact that we can compete against any team that’s a positive thing to take, but understand how difficult it is to do it consistently in this competition."