Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli is unavailable for selection against Nottingham Forest which means Mikel Arteta will be forced into a couple of changes.
The Brazil international’s outing against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend was cut short after being on the receiving end of a strong tackle from Moises Caicedo – who ironically could be his teammate next season if recent transfer rumours are to be believed – that saw him suffer ankle ligament damage.
Having tried valiantly to carry on, the decision was made to withdraw Martinelli after 20 minutes and it’s been confirmed by Arteta that he and fellow Gunners star Oleksandr Zinchenko are “both out for the rest of the season” meaning they will play no part against Forest or Wolves on the final day of the season.
With Arsenal not in a cup final and Manchester City all but guaranteed to be crowned Premier League champions, the loss of two key players isn’t too much of a blow at this stage of the season, but Arteta did deliver a rather worrying update with regard to the 21-year-old’s recovery.
“Different. Gabi is a pretty nasty injury, we need to assess in the next week how long he’ll be out for, but it will be at least weeks,” the Spaniard said in the pre-match press conference on Friday morning. “With Alex it’s a calf issue and he won’t be available to play the next two games.”
So with Martinelli and Zinchenko ruled out against Forest, it means 19 senior Arsenal players – as listed on the club’s official website – will be in contention for the trip to the City Ground and as it’s a Premier League fixture, Arteta is once again permitted to name a 20-man matchday squad for the game.
Taking the Gunners’ injury situation into account, it’s quite evident as to who will be cheering on the team from back in London as Takehiro Tomiyasu is a long-term absentee, Mohamed Elneny is not ready to return either despite recently being spotted in training and a back issue is to sideline William Saliba once again.
Therefore, that is five senior players whom Arteta is guaranteed to be without on Saturday even as he aims to complete the double over Steve Cooper and Forest this season whilst making sure Man City have to beat Chelsea 24 hours later to get their hands on the Premier League trophy.
Furthermore, based on decisions over the course of the campaign, it’s likely that Karl Hein won’t make the matchday squad vs Forest either. Firstly because Matt Turner is the backup option to Aaron Ramsdale and secondly it’s rare for a team to name two goalkeepers on the bench outside of a European fixture.
Should the trend continue this afternoon, then Arteta will turn to one of his academy players to make up the numbers. Considering Martinelli, an attacker, is out injured, all signs point towards youngster Amario Cozier-Duberry getting another taste of a senior matchday squad experience.
The 17-year-old has been on the bench for first-team games against FC Zurich, West Ham United, Everton, Brentford and Manchester City this season without making an appearance. Perhaps it will be sixth time lucky if included in the matchday squad alongside Reuell Walters against Forest.
source: football.london
