Football
Kevin Palmer 9y

Gabriel's three-week injury absence confirmed by Arsenal's Arsene Wenger

LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that centre-back Gabriel Paulista will be out for up to three weeks with a hamstring injury and confirmed he expects to recall keeper Wojciech Szczesny for Monday's FA Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United.

Gabriel impressed on his first Premier League start against Everton last weekend, as Wenger opted to leave Per Mertesacker out of his lineup in favour of the Brazilian he signed from Villarreal in the January transfer window.

Mertesacker started alongside Gabriel in Wednesday's 2-1 win over QPR, only for the latter to suffer a hamstring injury in the first half that rules him out for the next few weeks, meaning Laurent Koscielny is likely to partner the German at Old Trafford.

"Gabriel has a little hamstring injury and will be out for two to three weeks," Wenger said. "He is not available for the weekend and not for West Ham or Monaco. Nacho Monreal might come back, he has a test today."

Wenger went on to confirm that Szczesny will play against United in place of his current first-choice keeper David Ospina, so long as he recovers from the illness that has affected him in recent days.

"We have won the FA Cup last year, we are the holders and we want to keep it," Wenger said. "This competition is important to us and the cup is all about giving all on the day.

"I don't believe too much in history or worry about our record [at Old Trafford]. I believe in the performance of the day. At the moment, we are doing very well away from home.

"The size of the pitch is the same everywhere and it is just down to the how much we turn up and how much effort we put in to win the game."

Wenger dismissed suggestions that United's indifferent form meant his side had a real chance to record a victory at Old Trafford, as he insisted the criticism of the tactics and style of play being deployed by United boss Louis van Gaal is not his concern.

"We have enough problems here to keep our fans happy so I don't want to interfere with that at all," Wenger added. "We go there to qualify no matter how. I don't speculate on any weakness of Man United because they always put effort in against us.

"They have a very good team, they have 53 points and no-one gives you the points in the league. They had a little bit of a difficult start, but they are getting there.

"The game will be decided by who scores the first goal. At Manchester City, then we scored first and then we were more on a defensive foot as they and to come out. That is not predictable what will happen, but what is for sure you need a winner after this game. Both teams will go for it.

"We go to Man United to qualify and that is the target of the day. Hard work, team effort and give everything. Both teams will do that and it should be a very interesting game."

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