Gabriel Martinelli has provided Arsenal fans with some much-needed good news after his injury scare against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Pep Guardiola piled the misery on his former protege Mikel Arteta in the Carabao Cup, with the reigning champions sweeping past the hapless Gunners with a 4-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal looked to have been dealt another setback when Martinelli went down just before half-time following a collision with City goalkeeper Zach Steffen.
The 19-year-old came back out for the second half but was clearly uncomfortable and was substituted within five minutes of the restart.
Arteta said after the game that Martinelli had suffered swelling in his shin after the collision, and defended the decision to allow him to continue for the second half.
Martinelli has only just returned from a serious knee injury which had kept him out of action since June, with the City game his first senior start of the season.
"It was just a really bad kick on his shin and it was swelling up. He was in pain and came off," Arteta said.
"He was pushing [at half-time], saying that he was completely fine, that he wanted to carry on and he wanted to try.
"He had a scar that wasn’t open and he wanted to try so we gave him the possibility to try. And when he was on the pitch, he wasn’t comfortable so it was an easy decision to take him out."
On Wednesday morning, Martinelli gave an update on Twitter – saying he is “feeling fine and ready to go again”.
Feeling fine and ready to go again ❤️🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/WMc8PfNuEv
— Gabriel Martinelli (@g_martinelli01) December 23, 2020
That suggests he should be available for Arsenal’s upcoming games, though Arteta may exercise caution with him given his lengthy spell on the sidelines.
Arsenal are looking to save a disastrous season as they go into their Boxing Day fixture at home to Chelsea 15th in the Premier League – and only four points above the relegation zone.
Following that fixture are games against two of the sides below them in the table, in Brighton and West Brom.
Martinelli looked bright against Man City – the score was level at 1-1 when he was taken off – and Arteta has already spoken about the galvanising effect he has had in training.