Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli is reportedly set to spend more than a month out of action with the hamstring injury he suffered against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup.
The Brazil international was taken off in the first half of that 2-0 loss at St James' Park, where the Gunners crashed out of the competition with a 4-0 aggregate defeat in the semi-finals.
Head coach Mikel Arteta confirmed that Martinelli would be sent for scans straight away, as the North London giants prepared to fly to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp.
Arsenal do not play again until February 15 owing to their non-participation in the FA Cup fourth round and Champions League playoffs, but that clash with Leicester City is now one of several that he is set to miss.
According to The Athletic, Martinelli will spend more than a month on the sidelines recovering from his hamstring issue, meaning that he could miss as many as seven matches.
Which Arsenal games could Martinelli miss?
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Between now and the end of the month, Arsenal will play three games against Leicester (February 15), West Ham United (February 22), and Nottingham Forest (February 26), and Martinelli will be unavailable for all of those clashes.
The South American is also an early doubt for two mammoth matches against Manchester United and Chelsea on March 9 and 16 respectively, as well as the Champions League last 16.
Arsenal will face one of Feyenoord, AC Milan, Juventus or PSV Eindhoven next up in Europe's elite tournament, with the last-16 draw set to take place on February 21 following the playoff round.
The first leg of those battles will be fought on March 4-5 before the second legs on March 11-12, and Arteta may have to find alternative solutions for both of those crunch clashes.
Martinelli has struggled to hit his highest heights from the 2022-23 season, but the 23-year-old has nonetheless been a key man for Arteta this season, registering seven goals and four assists in 35 appearances.
How do Arsenal cope with Martinelli injury?
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Who could have seen this coming two days after the end of the transfer window? One that Arsenal made a conscious call not to pursue an attacker in?
The hierarchy's decision not to spend big on a striker in January is understandable - they seemingly did not want to jeopardize their summer pursuit of a new number nine - but that call was always going to be a significant risk, one that has already backfired horribly.
Gabriel Jesus will not play again this season, Bukayo Saka is not expected back from his hamstring operation until early April, meaning that Arteta is now down to Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz up front.
Unless Arsenal make a shock move for one of three potential free agent options, Nwaneri-Havertz-Trossard is seemingly the way to go, but expect Sterling to play a more prominent role as Arteta still tries to protect Nwaneri as best he can.
While the Martinelli news is a major blow to the Premier League title challengers, they did receive a timely injury boost during their first training session in Dubai.
Ben Knapton
