Arsene Wenger has never been shy to surprise us with a starting XI, but it looks as if he’s given fans an indication of how our defence might look against The Hammers.
Arsenal travel down the road to East London on Saturday afternoon in the hopes of stretching their unbeaten Premier League run to 13 games despite suffering a number of injuries.
One of the latest to be added to the sidelines is Mathieu Debuchy, who after just 15 minutes into his return to the first team was forced off with a nasty hamstring injury.
Along with Hector Bellerin missing, that opens up a massive debate on who deserves to play at right-back, as Wenger has four possible replacements in the defensive role.
However, it looks as if he’s confirmed that Gabriel will fill in at full-back after stating in his pre-match press conference the Brazilian would feature providing he was ready.
Gabriel played the full 90 minutes as Arsenal crashed out of the EFL Cup in mid-week, and after recovering from the events surrounding the Chapecoense plane crash he’s an option we can rely on.
I think he will (be able to play). I will have a chat with him today (Friday).
If he is in the right frame of mind, he will play. He sent a very emotional message to the families of people involved in this crash, but he still played on Wednesday night and I think if he has recovered well physically and mentally I will play him.
With Carl Jenkinson missing from the squad completely last week, Wenger opted for the Brazilian to come on in Debuchy’s place and he performed well for the entirety of the game.
Having achieved a steady run in the first team last season Gabriel certainly has the confidence to come straight into the starting XI in a tricky trip to West Ham’s London Stadium.
Have your say in who should start at right-back in our online Twitter poll, head over to @Fresh_Arsenal now to cast your vote!