 Mikel Arteta has explained his decision to bench Gabriel Magalhaes for the second time this season in Monday night's 1-0 win over Crystal Palace and rubbished reports he could leave the club. Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis Sign up Privacy Policy The Brazilian was surprisingly left out of the starting XI for last weekend's Premier League curtain-raiser against Nottingham Forest, with Ben White preferred at centre-back and Thomas Partey lining up loosely at right-back. Given Arsenal's rather nervy end to the match, which they held on to win 2-1, it was assumed that Gabriel would return to the starting line-up against Palace – particularly with Timber now sidelined with an ACL injury. But instead Takehiro Tomiyasu, who was introduced in the 50th minute against Forest in place of the Dutchman, was brought into the back four with the rest of the defence unchanged. Gabriel did, however, get a short run out at Selhurst Park following Tomiyasu's dismissal and gave an excellent defensive performance off the bench, helping the 10-man Gunners keep Palace's attack at bay and cling on to claim all three points. With Gabriel being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia, there have been rumblings that his time at Arsenal might be coming to an end but Arteta has shut down those reports and insists the 25-year-old has a big role to play. Asked if potential interest in Gabriel from Saudi Arabia has influenced his non-selection, Arteta replied: 'No, nothing at all. 'It's about the games we were expecting, that I was expecting, and how I wanted to defend and attack and what I believed was the best thing. Gabriel high-fives Aaron Ramsdale after shutting out Palace (Picture: Getty) 'He's played in both games, he helped us to win both games for different reasons. 'He was really good today, he absolutely dominated the box when he came on and he's going to play a lot of games. But that's the decision some){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Mikel Arteta has explained his decision to bench Gabriel Magalhaes for the second time this season in Monday night’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace and rubbished reports he could leave the club.
Arsenal news, exclusives and analysis
The Brazilian was surprisingly left out of the starting XI for last weekend’s Premier League curtain-raiser against Nottingham Forest, with Ben White preferred at centre-back and Thomas Partey lining up loosely at right-back.
Given Arsenal’s rather nervy end to the match, which they held on to win 2-1, it was assumed that Gabriel would return to the starting line-up against Palace – particularly with Timber now sidelined with an ACL injury.