Mikel Arteta provided an update on all the latest Arsenal team news ahead of the North London Derby including the status of Gabriel Martinelli.
Mikel Arteta has provided the latest updates on the team ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Tottenham in the North London Derby. Both teams are on 13 points going into the weekend following impressive starts to the campaign.
Both sides have their injury worries, however. Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber are both out for the home side whilst Tottenham have lost Ivan Perisic to a serious injury too.
Gabriel Martinelli remains a player of concern after he left the field against Everton, with Arteta confirming in midweek he had suffered a hamstring problem. That said, he didn’t rule out his appearance on Sunday ahead of the game with PSV but said more tests were needed.
Asked if Thomas Partey is out of the game against Tottenham during his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, Arteta replied: “Yes.” However, the Arsenal boss refused to rule out the Brazilian from the game.
“With Gabby, we are still assessing him,” Arteta said. He added: “So let’s see if he can make the game or not.”
Regarding the reaction from the game with PSV though there was good news. Arteta said: “There were no big issues in midweek.”
Arteta is typically coy on providing clear team news and will not want to give Tottenham any kind of advantage and keep them guessing regarding Martinelli. However, to know he’s not necessarily been ruled out yet, is certainly positive.