Mikel Arteta has provided an update on the severity of Pablo Mari's injury.
The Spaniard has been integral to helping Arsenal turn their form around in recent weeks starting all four matches in their winning run.
However, he was unavailable as the run came to an end against Crystal Palace last night due to a tight calf.
And now Mikel Arteta has revealed how long he expects the centre back to be out for.
"No," he said when asked if Mari was in contention to face Newcastle on Monday.
"He had a calf injury as well Pablo in training yesterday. I think he will miss a few matches. So yeah it’s another one that we will lose."
However, the Gunners boss was keen to focus on the positives in terms of injury news after the draw with Palace.
"But we got Gabi back after the COVID which is good news. We got Thomas back as well, so let’s focus on the positives."
There were reports that Mari would end up costing Arsenal a further £900k if he started Thursday night's game for the Gunners as part of the deal that saw him move from Brazilian side Flamengo to north London.
However, this is not thought to be the reason behind Mari's absence.
The 27-year-old has the impressive record of having won all eight of the matches where he has completed 90 minutes for Arsenal so they will be hoping to get him back soon.
He has been part of the Gunners defence that have now kept four clean sheets in a row, which Arteta later admitted is critical if his side are to start moving further up the table.
2Well it is very positive because that’s the foundation to win any game," he said of his side's recent impressive record with shutouts.
"And that gives you a great opportunity to go and win every single game."
