Arsenal star Gabriel will undergo tests on a suspected hamstring injury as Mikel Arteta faces a nervous wait to learn whether the defender will be fit to face Real Madrid next week. Gabriel looked uncomfortable and clutched his hamstring as he hobbled off just 15 minutes into the Gunners' 2-1 win over Fulham.

The Brazilian is a doubt for the first leg of Arsenal's Champions League quarter-final against Los Blancos. He pulled up in apparent agony after sprinting back to his own half to defend a Fulham attack. Arteta, who also saw Jurrien Timber go off late on after suffering an issue with his knee in the first half, will be desperate to avoid any long-term absence.

“Gabi felt something in his hamstring. We don’t know how big that is," Arteta said. "With Jurrien he was already struggling early. He couldn’t continue. We don’t know how they are going to be. We will be assessing them tomorrow.

"Two players in this team who never want to come off are those two. Jurrien was struggling very early in the game, he managed to continue and at some point he couldn’t.”

Arsenal's campaign has been plagued by a series of injuries. Bukayo Saka returned from three months out with his own hamstring injury to score the second goal against Fulham. Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all ruled out until the end of the season.

Defender Riccardo Calafiori missed the visit of the Cottagers due to his fifth separate fitness issue he has experienced since joining the north Londoners last summer. Ben White was also missing from the matchday squad.

Midfielder Declan Rice pointed out that Gabriel would be a huge miss if he is absent for Arsenal’s match against Real at the Emirates Stadium next Tuesday. Speaking to Sky Sports, Rice said: "I don't know what's happened, I hope he's OK because he's been arguably our best player this season and we need him for big matches and big occasions."

Meanwhile, returning star Saka headed in just eight minutes after coming on as a substitute and now looks set to play a pivotal role in Europe next week. Arteta suggested on Monday that the England international could have started against Fulham, although the Spaniard eventually only named him on the bench.

The impressive 17-year-old Nwaneri set up Mikel Merino to open the scoring in the 37th minute. Arsenal, who conceded late on through Rodrigo Muniz, visit Everton on Saturday before hosting Real next week.