Arsenal have had several injuries to contend with already this season.
Mikel Arteta will have gone into this current international break hoping that none of his Arsenal players sustain any injury issues.
The Spanish coach has not gotten his wish though.
Bukayo Saka returned to Arsenal having picked up a knock whilst on duty with England. Now, Brazilian winger Gabriel Martinelli has also sustained an issue.
Arsenal recently received the bad news about Martinelli, but there will be hope that he isn’t set for an extended period on the sidelines.
He did not immediately return to North London, after all, suggesting that there was some optimism that the 23-year-old might be able to feature for the Selecao against Peru this week.
Arsenal ace Gabriel Martinelli misses Brazil training
As reported by Metro, though, Martinelli sat out training on Monday as the rest of the Brazil squad prepared to take on Peru. The Arsenal man is not now expected to feature at all in that fixture.
As per the aforementioned report: “Brazil’s medical staff have described Martinelli’s problem as a ‘muscle edema’, which is where the muscle swells from too much fluid.”
Whilst he ought to be able to recover from this injury pretty quickly, the Gunners will be pleased that the Brazilian medical team are treating the situation with such caution, as the last thing Arteta will want is for Martinelli to be rushed back into action only for his current condition to be aggravated into something more serious.
How Mikel Arteta can cope with Martinelli injury
Arteta does have options to call upon if Martinelli is still in need of further treatment and recovery time once he returns to the Emirates Stadium.
Leandro Trossard would usually be the first choice to take up the left wing berth. However, the Belgian has been operating in a more central role recently, deputising for the sidelined Martin Odegaard.
What’s more, Trossard has combined with Kai Havertz to great effect in this position, and Arteta would surely be reluctant to break that burgeoning partnership up.
Therefore, summer loan signing Raheem Sterling is the wisest option to stand in for Martinelli if required. The 82-cap England international was brought in to provide reliable squad depth, and now looks like it is the time for Arteta to show faith in that plan.
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