ARSENAL have been handed a boost after Gabriel Martinelli revealed he is ‘fine and ready’ to face Chelsea.
The 19-year-old forward made his first start for nine months after being sidelined with a knee injury he suffered in training.
Gabriel Martinelli has provided Arsenal with a huge injury boostCredit: AP
Martinelli showed his class with a fine run and cross to set up Alexandre Lacazette for the equaliser in the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Manchester City at the Emirates.
But just seconds before half time, the teen took a nasty bang to the top of his foot in a challenge with City goalkeeper Zack Steffen.
After several minutes of treatment he attempted to resume playing, but after struggling to put any weight on his right leg, he limped towards the dressing room at the break.
He did return to the pitch after the interval but was replaced by Nicholas Pepe after going down shortly after the restart.
That left under-pressure Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta sweating on the fitness of Martinelli ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Chelsea.
But fears on whether the starlet would be involved have now been ended after he provided a positive update on Twitter.
He wrote: “Feeling fine and ready to go again.”
The north Londoners have struggled to find the back of the net as of late, with their lack of goals contributing to a worrying slide down the table.
Arteta’s men have won only one of their last ten Premier League matches and are currently toiling in 15th place in the table.
Defeat to Chelsea would heap further pressure on the Spaniard, who has overseen the club’s worst league start since 1974.
And things got even worse for Arsenal after they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup yesterday.
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Mikel Arteta reflects on painful Arsenal defeat to Man City in the Carabao Cup
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
