FFS … Gabriel injury blow + a real Cristhian

Morning.

Bad news to start with today, and that’s Gabriel picking up an injury playing for Brazil yesterday. I don’t think it’s ironic the game took place at the Emirates, his domestic home, just another layer of annoyance.

It came midway through the second half, and Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti said afterwards:

He had a problem on his adductor the medical staff have to check tomorrow. We are really sorry for this, really disappointed, when players have an injury I hope they can recover well and soon.

It remains to be seen how serious it is, but with a North London derby a week away, then big games against Bayern Munich and Chelsea to follow, it will be a worry for Mikel Arteta. Earlier in the day, Italy decided that Riccardo Calafiori couldn’t overcome the hip issue he’d been struggling with, so he has returned to London to add another layer of concern to proceedings.

Gabriel has been up there with our best players this season, and to be without his presence in both boxes would be a real blow. We have to wait and see if we’re getting any players back after the break. The expectation is that some of them should be available, but it seems like the injury gods giveth, and the injury gods taketh away. The lisping twats.

Elsewhere, Martin Zubimendi was on the scoresheet for Spain as they beat Georgia 4-0 – watch here. He played the full 90 while Mikel Merino started, got a yellow card, and came off after an hour. David Raya was on the bench. In Kazakhstan, Leandro Trossard played 70 minutes up top for Belgium in a 1-1 draw.

Today, keep everything crossed for no injuries as France go to Azerbaijan with William Saliba a likely starter, while at the same time England take on Albania with three Arsenal players in the squad. I do not want the title of tomorrow’s blog to be FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFCS.

For a bit of extra reading this morning, there’s a typically excellent Sid Lowe interview with Cristhian Mosquera who is away with Spain U21s. He appears to have been an unused sub in their 7-0 win over San Marino on Friday, and they face Romania on Tuesday. Obviously he talks about Arsenal and how things have gone since his arrival from Valencia in the summer, but I think his reflections on his background are really very interesting, particularly in the world we live in right now and the never-ending dialogue about immigration and the relentless demonising of those who just want a better life somewhere.

He talks about the journey his parents made, from Colombia to Spain:

My parents came from Colombia in the early 2000s. It’s funny; the question always comes up: ‘Which do you love more?’ But I don’t think it’s hard to have two cultures, both identities. I feel satisfaction at being a symbol of a new [Spain], a new generation. My family in Colombia are super proud and I try to be an example. My mum and dad came looking for work, stability. There were more opportunities then but they were young, came with family, and it wasn’t easy. My dad would do what he could: a month on a building site, wash dishes in a restaurant. Mum would clean houses.

And then his own journey, leaving home at 12 to join the Valencia academy:

My parents sacrificed a lot and I feel I made sacrifices too, leaving home at 12. It’s mad really. My mum said that if it was up to her, I wouldn’t have gone. For a ‘normal’ person, the idea wouldn’t enter your head: 11, 12, without your parents. And you don’t know if you’ll make it. From my generation, there aren’t many. But there’s a good part too because they look after you, you learn a lot, grow up fast. It could be too fast. That’s good or bad, depending how you look at it. But in the end, I say: I lived it, I had that privilege. I understand it’s not easy but you mature, it teaches you about life. If I had children I’d support them following the same path.

Here’s a young man whose parents made a difficult step, who followed that with difficult steps of his own to try and make a career at the top of the game we all love. And nobody should be under any illusions how hard that is, by the way. To have that level of talent is rare, because there are millions of footballers but only a tiny percentage who make the grade at the highest level. But also think about how you might have fared at 11 or 12, leaving home to go it alone, so to speak. That’s a strength of character that few possess at that age.

People talk about how remarkable it is that Max Dowman is doing what he’s doing at 15, and understandably so. It’s incredible, but he’s had the comfort of home, parental guidance etc, all the way. Which is great, by the way, not any kind of criticism. But then you read something like this and you realise that for every Cristhian Mosquera there are probably tons of kids who fall through the cracks, in all kinds of ways. His story is a beautiful one really, aspirational for many, I’m sure. A kid of Colombian parents who moved to Spain and now he’s playing in England for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Destiny, perhaps?

I always watched the Premier League. In fact, my team was Arsenal. The players, the shirt. I saw them as a bit different: they had something, an aura. Before I had decided, someone in my camp said: ‘The moment you speak to Mikel, there’s no way he won’t convince you.’ And that’s exactly how it happened. When the call finished, my destination couldn’t have been clearer.

What a story, and hopefully there’s lots more to come from him. Have a great Sunday folks.