Arsenal star on crutches as Arteta handed injury blow after Brentford win
Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli is a major worry ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Porto after being spotted on crutches.
The Brazilian was ruled out of the weekend’s late victory against Brentford at the Emirates Stadium. He was sidelined with a ‘foot issue’ that he picked up against Sheffield United last week - Martinelli being helped from the pitch late on at Bramall Lane.
It appears that the injury is more severe than first thought. During Saturday’s win against the Bees, he was spotted wearing a protective boot and was walking with crutches.
Should he not recover in time, then he could potentially miss Tuesday’s key Champions League showdown with Portuguese giants Porto. The Gunners find themselves 1-0 down after the first-leg.
Arteta had previously been optimistic of Martinelli’s chances of appearing against Brentford. Speaking before the game, he said: "We had Martinelli and Bukayo [Saka] with little issues. We're pretty positive that hopefully they can be part of that. But we'll have to see how they feel."
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Martinelli would certainly be a big miss against Porto as Arsenal attempt to turn the tie around. The 22-year-old has eight goals and five assists in 32 games in all competitions so far this season.
As it happened, Arsenal did not actually need Martinelli against Brentford. Declan Rice gave the North-Londoners the lead, only for Yoane Wissa to equalise after an Aaron Ramsdale error.
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German forward Kai Havertz proved to be the hero for the Gunners with his 86th minute header. Speaking after the crucial victory, Mikel Arteta said: “It felt great. Obviously we had to dig in and earn the right to win it.
“I’m really pleased with the performance, the maturity and control that we showed and how we overcame difficulties. If you want to be up there you have to win these types of games. The team showed that it has the tools and the determination to do so.”
After Tuesday’s clash with Porto, Arsenal can then take a break from action. Next weekend’s fixture against Chelsea has been postponed due to the Blues’ FA Cup quarter-final tie with Leicester.
The international break then brings all domestic action to an end ahead of what could be a title-deciding showdown with Manchester City at the Etihad at the end of the month. Arteta will be hoping that he can call on Martinelli once again for that huge clash.
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