Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Gabriel Martinelli will miss Saturday’s trip to Turf Moor, while William Saliba, who also picked up a knock in last weekend’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, still has a chance to feature.
Martinelli, introduced as a second-half substitute, was seen limping late on with what appeared to be a groin issue and headed straight down the tunnel at full-time.
Saliba, who started the match, was withdrawn at half-time and replaced by Cristhian Mosquera. Although details remain unclear, he did take a knock to the ankle from centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes in the ninth minute.
“Martinelli is still out. Saliba, we have to wait and see,” reported the manager on Friday.
When asked about a possible return date for Martinelli, Arteta added: “We don’t know yet, but I think this game is going to come too early for him.”
As for the Gunners’ quartet of long-term absentees – all nursing knee injuries – it sounds like they are making good progress. Three of them, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke, are targeting a return after the November Interlull, which makes the North London derby on 23 November a potential target.
Gabriel Jesus, meanwhile, is in the final phase of his recovery from ACL surgery and is expected to return to full training in December.