Gabriel Martinelli conditions for Arsenal return as Mikel Arteta axes two players vs Tottenham
Arsenal have one major injury concern heading into the North London Derby with Mikel Arteta confirming Gabriel Martinelli is being assessed over a hamstring problem.
The Brazil international limped off in the first half of last weekend's 1-0 win over Everton, subsequently missing the UEFA Champions League Group B opener at home to PSV Eindhoven. Having not been spotted in the gym training session, naturally concerns over his involvement against Tottenham increased.
And taking his absence from Arsenal's 'Inside Training' video that was uploaded around 24 hours later into account, it wouldn't be much of a surprise if predicted line-ups among some supporters do not include the winger.
However, when speaking on Friday, Arteta refused to rule Martinelli out: «With Gaby we are still assessing him and so let’s see whether he can make the game or not,» the Arsenal manager told reporters. Thomas [Partey] for sure is out. And the rest hopefully available, we still have two training sessions but there were no big issues in midweek."
As revealed by the Spaniard, Thomas Partey remains sidelined. The Ghana international has missed the last three games with a groin injury and will sit out the North London Derby alongside summer signing Jurrien Timber, who despite taking a positive step this week, is a long-term absentee after sustaining an ACL injury last month.
Whether Martinelli makes it three senior Arsenal players unavailable for selection against Tottenham remains to be seen, but if he does pass a late fitness test then Arteta has three options to consider. Does he hand the 22-year-old an immediate recall to the starting line-up, name him among the substitutes, or choose to not risk him at all and leave him out of the matchday squad?
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