Ian Wright fears Arsenal star will be ‘exploited’ by Real Madrid in Champions League

Ian Wright admits he is concerned that Real Madrid will ‘exploit’ Jakub Kiwior during Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final next week.

Arsenal were dealt a huge setback in their 2-1 win over Fulham on Tuesday night as Gabriel Magalhaes was forced off in the first half with a hamstring injury.

Mikel Arteta admitted after the game that he is ‘worried’ over the extent of Gabriel’s injury, while Arsenal could also be without Ben White, who failed to make the matchday squad against Fulham, and Jurrien Timber, who was replaced in the second half at the Emirates Stadium.

Kiwior, meanwhile, covered in central defence alongside William Saliba in Gabriel’s absence in the win over Fulham and is likely to start against Everton on Saturday with Riccardo Calafiori still sidelined with a knee injury he suffered during the international break

Arsenal are then due to host Madrid at the Emirates Stadium in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie next Tuesday.

And Wright admits he is worried about Arsenal’s defensive solidity without Gabriel.

‘It’s a massive miss,’ Wright told Premier League Productions.

‘It’s just as big in respects of what Saka does for us going forward, then Gabriel going the other way, set-pieces, leadership, warrior that we need.

‘I think whatever you say, the drop-off from Gabriel, I don’t know how fit Calafiori is at the moment, but when you’re looking at someone going that quick and pulling up like that, that’s not two weeks, that a month, that’s six weeks, you can see it there, he knows himself.

‘The thing is, I know we’re jumping ahead and speaking about Real Madrid because it is a massive game, it is the big game of the season for us.

‘Without Gabi Magalhaes in that game you’re looking at Kiwior even today [against Fulham], there’s a couple of positional moves that you just cannot afford to do when you play against Real Madrid.

‘They are looking for any chink in the armour to exploit, so you need people who are absolutely bang on it, to be able to keep Real Madrid to no goals at home. If Gabi Magalhaes was there I would feel more confident about that.’

Wright also believes Arsenal need a positive result from the first leg next week to stand any chance of progressing past Madrid to reach the Champions League semi final, where they would play either Aston Villa or Paris Saint-Germain.

‘Missing Gabriel now, we need all the best players we can get out there for that particular game because we know what the Champions League means to Real Madrid and how much they want to win that, and how much good fortune they get in that tournament. We’re going to need everything we can get,’ Wright said.

‘We probably need to go to Real Madrid with something. You can’t look at a Real Madrid side with the players they’ve got and feel like they’re not going to at least get a goal here, so you have to go to the Bernabeu with something.’

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