Arsenal have a triple injury scare in the international break

The sooner the international break ends, the happier Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta will be.

The Premier League leaders entered the fortnight boasting one of the weakest defenses in Europe, but they have seen three of their key men involved in injury concerns.

Injuries to Gabriel and Riccardo Calafiore had already caused concern before full-back Jurien Temper joined the squad during the Netherlands’ 4-0 win over Lithuania on Monday.

Arsenal, who host north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday and then Bayern Munich the following Wednesday, recorded a club record of eight consecutive clean sheets in all competitions before drawing 2-2 with Sunderland in their final match before the international break.

Brazilian defender Gabriel, whose partnership with William Saliba has been one of the best defensive duos in the league for several seasons, played a key role in the impressive start to the season.

The league leaders have conceded just five goals in 11 matches, with the Brazilian also scoring twice and providing a consistent threat from set-pieces.

So, when he became the first Arsenal defender to suffer an injury, alarm bells rang at the club’s training ground at London Colney.

The 27-year-old did not travel to France to participate in Brazil’s friendly match against Tunisia on Tuesday after tests confirmed that he suffered a thigh injury during Saturday’s friendly match against Senegal, when he was forced off in the second half.

Then full-back Calafiore, who has been the left-back for most of his matches this season, withdrew from the Italy squad due to a thigh problem.

The 23-year-old joined the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Norway, but trained alone and did not participate in either match.

However, there appears to be some good news on this front for Arsenal, with reports suggesting that the Gunners are hoping the Italian will be available on Sunday.

Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso expressed his delight at the defender’s commitment to the Azzurri.

He said: “Ricardo joined the national team suffering from a physical problem.

“He showed dedication to the jersey and we tried to make him grit his teeth, but we couldn’t force him to do so.”

But Arsenal fans would have feared the worst on Monday when Temper was injured by a poor tackle during the first half of the Netherlands’ win over Lithuania.

He was treated by doctors after he appeared to have suffered a knee injury, but images later showed a deep gash on his leg, and he played a further 30 minutes to be substituted, raising hopes again that he would be available at the weekend.

Arsenal are already dealing with various injuries, with strikers Victor Gjukouris, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz and Noni Madueke joining midfielder Martin Odegaard in missing recent matches, and they will be hoping the back three don’t join them on the sidelines.