- Martinelli injured against Brighton
- Hobbled off after 20 minutes
- Ruled out for season with ankle injury
WHAT HAPPENED? The Brazilian was caught by Seagulls midfielder Moises Caicedo in a challenge that escaped punishment, just moments after crashing into Kaoru Mitoma and avoiding the book himself. Martinelli had to be withdrawn after just 20 minutes of that matchup.
Despite head of medical services Gary O'Driscoll providing a positive injury update after the match, The Athletic's David Ornstein revealed on Wednesday that that the forward will take no further part of this campaign after sustaining ankle ligament damage, with Arteta confirming as much on Friday.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The news is another big blow for Arsenal during what has been a difficult few weeks for the north London club. They have also seen injuries rule William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko for the remainder of the campaign, while Sunday's 3-0 defeat by Brighton all but ended their slim title chances.
Mikel Arteta's side visit Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening, with Leandro Trossard expected to start in place of Martinelli at the City Ground.
WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking in Friday's press conference, Arteta confirmed his initial fears about Martinelli, while also ruling Zinchenko out for the Gunners' last two league matches.
"They are both out for the rest of the season," the Spaniard said. "Gabi [Martinelli] is a pretty nasty injury, we need to asses in the next week how long he will be out for and with Alex [Zinchenko] it’s a calf issue.”
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL? Arsenal visit Nottingham Forest on Saturday evening in the penultimate game of their Premier League season.