After the highs of mauling Manchester City 5-1 at the weekend, to say that Arsenal were sent crashing back down to earth at St James' Park on Wednesday evening would be a huge understatement.
Mikel Arteta's men travelled to Newcastle United's boisterous base with a 2-0 deficit to overturn from the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final, but everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the toothless Gunners.
Another two-goal loss condemned Arsenal to a humiliating 4-0 aggregate defeat, as Eddie Howe's men deservedly advanced to the Wembley final on March 16, where either Tottenham Hotspur or defending champions Liverpool lie in wait.
As if the result itself was not chastening enough, Arsenal lost yet another attacker to injury in the first half, as Gabriel Martinelli pulled up with a suspected hamstring issue after sprinting for the ball.
The Brazil international trudged off to be replaced by Ethan Nwaneri and now joins Gabriel Jesus (knee) and Bukayo Saka (hamstring) in the infirmary, as well as long-term knee victims Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
How long could Martinelli be out for?
© Imago
Martinelli is now expected to be sent for scans to determine the severity of his injury, and hamstring problems can be grade one, two or three, one being the least severe and three being the most serious.
The South American could be back in a matter of days if he has only suffered a grade one strain, meaning that he might not miss any Gunners games and could make a full recovery during their warm-weather training camp in Dubai.
However, if Martinelli has picked up a grade two problem, expect him to miss at least a few weeks, potentially making him a doubt for crunch games against Nottingham Forest (February 26), Manchester United (March 9) and Chelsea (March 16).
A grade three problem would indicate a complete tear - the same injury that Saka suffered - and if the worst has happened, there is a chance that the winger could miss the remainder of the season.
Martinelli was able to gingerly limp off the field, although Saka also managed to walk off when he suffered his rupture against Crystal Palace in December, so there will be no way of knowing how severe the former's concern is until the scan results filter through.
Arsenal's January transfer risk already backfires
© Imago
A penny for the thoughts of Arsenal's recruitment team right now; just two days after the January transfer window slams shut, their attacking ranks are further decimated, suggesting that their massive gamble has already backfired.
Arteta was making public pleas for a new signing every week, but for whatever reason, his wishes fell on deaf ears with the men upstairs, who seemingly did not want to do anything this month that could jeopardise their summer plans.
The powers-that-be at the Emirates took a huge risk not bringing any players in during the winter window, knowing that this exact scenario could happen with overworked players, and there is no place for the transfer chiefs to hide.
With Martinelli, Saka and Jesus out, Arsenal's attacking options are as follows: The admittedly bright Nwaneri, a hot-and-cold Leandro Trossard, a confidence-depleted Kai Havertz, an ineffective Raheem Sterling and an inexperienced Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.
Will that set of offensive options strike fear into the hearts of opposing defences? Most likely not. As was the case in January 2022 - when Arsenal also held off on signing a striker - their inactivity will surely mean that they fall short of their aims once again.
Ben Knapton
