Mikel Arteta gives injury update on Gabriel Martinelli for Arsenal fans
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits he was 'gutted' to see Gabriel Martinelli suffer a suspected ankle injury
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Gabriel Martinelli is set to undergo fitness tests after he suffered a suspected twisted ankle in the warm-up before Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday night.
The Brazilian forward had been named in the starting line-up for the FA Cup third-round clash at The Emirates but went down in a heap during the warm-up before the game and did not feature.
Arsenal went on to win the game 2-0 thanks to extra-time goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Martinelli has only recently returned to action from a long injury lay-off following a serious knee injury and he will be hoping that his latest setback does not prove to be a bad one.
Speaking at his post-match news conference, Arteta was asked to give an update on Martinelli, and said: “I am gutted. I was in my office before the game and one of the medical staff came in and said he twisted his ankle. He was in tears and in a lot of pain.
“We’re going to see how he is but he didn’t look good. He was in pain. He’s a character that he wants to play the next game, hopefully it’s not too serious.”
Arsenal will return to Premier League action on Thursday night when they host Crystal Palace at The Emirates.
The north London side, who are currently in 11th place in the Premier League table, head into the game looking to make it five wins in a row in all competitions.
