Mikel Arteta says he is pretty positive over Saka and Martinelli ahead of Brentford game
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said that he is pretty positive over the fitness of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli ahead of the Premier League meeting against Brentford.
The Gunners continued their scintillating form in the league on Monday with a convincing 6-0 rout of Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. Saka was one of the stand-out performers with two assists.
However, he was substituted at the half-time interval as he was feeling unwell before the game.
Meanwhile, Martinelli was also brilliant with a goal and an assist to his name. He was taken off shortly after the hour mark following a little cut on his left foot from a challenge.
Speaking in today’s press conference, Arteta said that there are no fresh positives from Monday which suggests that Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Takehiro Tomiyasu may not feature.
However, the Spanish tactician added that the club are ‘pretty positive’ that Saka and Martinelli could be involved when Brentford make the trip to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.
He said live on Arsenal.com: “Not much. We’ve got some players back last Monday and then we had Martinelli and Bukayo with little issues. We’re pretty positive that hopefully they can be part of that. But we’ll have to see.”
The north London giants are currently on a stunning seven-match winning streak in the top-flight. They have scored a staggering 31 goals during this period, conceding only thrice.
Despite the run, they are one point behind second-placed Manchester City and two adrift of leaders Liverpool. The top two will face each other at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Arsenal can temporarily move to the top of the table by beating Brentford. If Liverpool and City were to share the spoils, the Gunners could be the new league leaders before the international break.
The club are scheduled to host Porto in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 prior to that. The fans will be hoping that the club can overturn a 1-0 deficit to make the quarter-finals.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
