- Gabriel Martinelli will miss the final two games of the season due to an ankle injury sustained in the match against Brighton and Hove Albion.
- The injury adds to Arsenal’s growing injury list.
- Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo, responsible for the injury-inducing tackle, has apologised, acknowledging the severity of his foul.
In a blow to Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli will miss the final two games of the season following an ankle injury sustained during the club’s recent defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion.
The young forward had to be substituted just 20 minutes into the game, and he was later seen leaving the Emirates Stadium in a boot.
“Martinelli is in a boot. It is very uncomfortable to walk. He could not play on,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta during the post-match conference. He also confirmed that Martinelli would undergo a scan to assess the extent of the damage.
The results of that are now in.
This injury adds to the growing list of players on Arsenal’s injury bench, with both Oleksandr Zinchenko and William Saliba already ruled out for the rest of the season.
The injury was a result of a challenge from Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. The tackle has drawn wide criticism, and even Caicedo himself has acknowledged the severity of the foul. “If I could turn back time, I wouldn’t have made that bad tackle,” he admitted on Twitter, following the game.
Arsenal’s Head of Medical Services, Gary O’Driscoll, called the challenge a “terrible foul” and confirmed that Martinelli was in a fair bit of pain.
Still, there’s optimism that the Brazilian international will recover in time for the new campaign. ”
He’s a bit sore, but he should be okay. I think he’ll be back before the end of the season,” O’Driscoll said, optimistically, before Martinelli was eventually ruled out.
Still, that implies Arsenal are not overly concerned about the injury which is something, I guess.
