BREAKING Mikel Arteta dealt Arsenal injury blow ahead of Porto as star absent from training
Mikel Arteta has been dealt a blow in the build up to Arsenal’s Champions League clash with Porto after Gabriel Martinelli was absent from training at the Sobha Realty Training Centre.
The Brazilian came off injured during last Monday’s 6-0 win over Sheffield United with what Arteta confirmed was a cut to his foot. This saw him miss Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brentford.
After the match, the 22-year-old came through the mixed zone on crutches, although the injury is not thought to be more serious than a cut to the foot. Martinelli is now likely to miss Tuesday night’s second leg against Porto at Emirates Stadium as a result.
The Gunners will be able to welcome back Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko after the trio were all absent for the 1-0 defeat in the first leg at Estadio do Dragao. All three were involved in Monday’s training session.
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There was also a return to action for Takehiro Tomiyasu. The 25-year-old has been absent since returning from Asian Cup duty with Japan last month. During Japan’s quarter-final defeat to Iran it is understood that he sustained another calf issue which has seen him miss a further month of football after being absent for most of December due to a different calf problem.
It is unclear yet if Tomiyasu will be able to take part in Tuesday night’s clash. Jurrien Timber was also part of the group that trained on Monday afternoon as he continues his recovery from an ACL injury.
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