Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Newcastle United was made even less enjoyable as Gabriel Martinelli was injured.
After Arsenal failed to sign a player in the January transfer window, the Gunners were shown how costly their decisions could be.
Newcastle beat Arsenal 2-0 in the second leg to book a place at Wembley with a 4-0 aggregate score, seeing Alexander Isak humiliate Mikel Arteta’s side.
As Arteta identified what Isak could offer his side amid Arsenal’s struggles in attack, the Spaniard watched his front line get even weaker at St James’ Park.
Expert shares Gabriel Martinelli injury forecast
Arteta’s plea for a striker signing was not acted upon by Arsenal’s hierarchy, leaving the squad incredibly bare for the remainder of the season.
The strain on the lack of squad depth was not eased against Newcastle, as Gabriel Martinelli was injured in the first half, seeing him replaced by Ethan Nwaneri.
After Arteta took no risk and hooked the Brazilian immediately after he went down, the Arsenal manager revealed that Martinelli is set to have a scan to determine the severity of the injury.
Another hamstring injury to a winger is not what Arsenal need right now, with Bukayo Saka recovering from surgery to repair a tear.
It’s yet to be known how long Martinelli will be out of action, however, an injury analyst has an early idea that the forward could be set for a ‘longer recovery’.
Taking to X, expert Physio Scout, who predicted Gabriel Jesus’ ACL injury, gave a slightly concerning update on the early indication of Martinelli’s blow.
“It looked like he aggravated it while sprinting into the box. He was seen clutching his upper hamstring, which is usually associated with a longer recovery.
“Scans will be needed to determine the severity of the injury. Let’s hope it’s just hamstring tightness.”
The analyst then gave three different timeframes of recovery based on the findings from the scan, admitting that the mechanism of Martinelli’s injury is ‘associated more with a strain’.
- If tightness: Less than a week
- If grade 1: 2-4 weeks
- If grade 2: 4-6 weeks
Transfer decision is already haunting Arsenal
It was almost typical that Martinelli would be hurt against Newcastle, a game that took place just two days after deadline day of the January transfer window.
Arteta cryptically reacted to Arsenal not signing anyone, sending a subtle jab at the club’s hierarchy with regard to how limited his options are.
With the Gunners set to embark on a mid-season trip to Dubai, there’s hope that Martinelli’s problem will be solved by the time play resumes in nine days time.
For now, it’s a waiting game to determine the severity of the winger’s injury, in what could be yet another decisive blow to Arsenal’s campaign.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
