"In pain" - Arsenal star spotting "limping" after PSV game in major blow for Arteta

Arsenal may have suffered a major injury blow during their 2-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

The Gunners went into the game in the Netherlands knowing that a point would be enough to top their group, and send them straight into the knockout phase.

Mikel Arteta named a strong starting lineup, with Premier League regulars Aaron Ramsdale, William Saliba, Kieran Tierney, Martin Odegaard, Granit Xhaka and Gabriel Martinelli all getting the nod.

The importance of finishing top of the group is amplified this season, with the second-placed team having to enter a two-legged play-off against one of the teams that finishes third in their Champions League group.

But Arsenal could not get the job done against Ruud van Nistelrooy's side. They had 15 shots at goal, but rarely tested PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez.

Instead, Joey Veerman opened the scoring for the hosts early in the second half, before former Barcelona striker Luuk de Jong added a second goal on 63 minutes.

Cody Gakpo almost added a third for PSV, but despite finding the back of the net, he was ruled to be offside in the build-up.

Speaking after the game, Arteta told reporters: "It's the end of a long run, and now it's time to reset and analyse what happened.

"PSV deserved to win, no question. We were nowhere near our level today.

"Last week, the game was all ours. Today, it was very different, and when you play like that against the top teams, it's very difficult to win.

"Today, we were extremely poor. There have been periods recently when we have been excellent, and others when we have suffered. We've not had the consistency for 95 minutes that we want."

As well as the defeat, Arsenal may have another problem to deal with.

Arsenal star seen 'limping' after PSV defeat

According to Sam Dean of the Daily Telegraph, Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes was seen limping down the tunnel, with the report that was 'grimacing in pain' after the full-time whistle.

He played 16 minutes of the match, coming off the bench to replace Tierney.

The loss of the Brazilian defender through injury would be a major blow for Arteta's side. The Gunners do not have a natural left-footed senior defender that can replace him in the starting XI.

Arsenal still have three Premier League games - plus their final Europa League group game and a Carabao Cup clash - to play before English teams break for the World Cup.

To replace the ever-present, if he is injured, however, Arteta does have numerous options. Ben White, who has been playing right-back for most of the season, can move over to centre-back, while Saliba started on the left side of defence against PSV.

Rob Holding, Takehiro Tomiyasu and even Xhaka are other players that could replace Gabriel.