Arsenal confirm Martinelli will miss rest of the season

Arsenal have confirmed that Gabriel Martinelli will miss the remainder of the campaign due to a knee injury suffered in training. 

Martinelli’s injury required surgery and the club’s medical team have said:

“Sustained injury during training on 21 June. Successful arthroscopic procedure undertaken to repair a lesion in the cartilage of the left knee. Will not be available for the current schedule of remaining 2019/20 matches.”

Arteta had already said the player would be out for ‘months’ although it’s unconfirmed how long the Brazilian will spend on the sidelines.

Martinelli took part in a training session earlier in the week and after the session complained of discomfort in his knee. Scans revealed negative results and the Brazilian forward will now recuperate from his injury and aim to get back onto the pitch at the earliest. 

The former Ituano attacker had not played in either of Arsenal’s first two games against Manchester City and Brighton since the return of football. Prior to his injury, it was believed that he would play a key role in Arsenal’s run in. The Brazilian has scored ten goals and provided four assists in 26 games across all competitions for the Gunners this season. He is Arsenal’s second highest goalscorer behind Pierre Emerick Aubameyang. 

Martinelli joined Arsenal from Brazilian third division side Ituano in the summer. The 19 year old was expected to take some time to adapt to English football but surprised everybody and established himself as an important player in the Arsenal first team. Arsenal and Gooners will hope he makes a swift return from injury and is ready to maraud opposition defences next season.