Mikel Arteta has had his hands tied behind his back in terms of selection recently.
The Arsenal boss had Albert Sambi Lokonga as his only fit senior central midfielder for games against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Burnley last month amid suspensions for Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny being away at AFCON.
To add to that the Spaniard has seen his squad depth gutted in January by the departures of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Flo Balogun, Pablo Mari, Sead Kolasinac, Calum Chambers and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
And now as the Gunners boss prepares for a crucial Premier League clash with Brentford, he is set to be without another vitally important player.
Gabriel Martinelli was sent off in bizarre circumstances during Thursday night's 1-0 win over Wolves, as the Brazilian was shown two consecutive yellow cards for fouls within the same sequence of play.
After the game, Arteta described the incident as something he had never seen in his 18 years in English football, but once the outrage subsided the reality that he will be without another member of his squad due to suspension for next Saturday's game at the Emirates Stadium began to hit home.
Martinelli is a devastating loss as since the Brazilian came into the first team around the start of December he has been in excellent form, scoring four goals in 10 matches, which is one more than Alexandre Lacazette and Eddie Nketiah have managed combined in the Premier League this season.
"Gabi has been extremely good the last few months," the Spaniard said when asked about the impact the 20-year-old's absence would have in his post-match press conference. "I think the level that he’s playing at, the way he’s been every game, the way he’s been evolving.
"It’s a real shame because he’s going to miss the game now because we need him and because we are really, really short."
One option that Arteta now has at his disposal to replace Martinelli is to bring Nicolas Pepe back into the side.
The Ivorian has hardly featured for much of this season, but his absence in the month of January was painfully evident as Arsenal managed to score just once in five games.
Pepe has played on the left-wing before and in fact, has scored four times in just nine appearances in the position during his Gunners career.
However, it seems the far more likely candidate to take Martinelli's starting spot is Emile Smith Rowe.
Despite just starting one Premier League game since the beginning of December, the 21-year-old is still Arsenal's top scorer in the competition.
He has been the unlucky victim of a fine run of form from Martinelli, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, who were all regulars during the Gunners excellent run towards the end of 2021.
Having left him out of the team for such long periods, some have questioned whether Arteta values Smith Rowe as much as he has done in the past, but the Spaniard has already explained the reason for this course of events.
"Well the main reason (behind) that was because he wasn’t completely fit to play," Arteta said of the England international. "He’s been carrying an issue, and that hasn’t allowed him to train regularly, to play regularly, and that was the main reason.
"Because in his performances, and what he did before that international break (in November) – there is no question that he was one of our more important and consistent players.
"The only reason that changed the dynamic was that – and obviously now that the team (has been) doing well, there are other players who are doing well, and have been performing well. That changed the situation, but I am very happy with him."
Smith Rowe has continued to impress despite not being a regular starter in recent months scoring three times off the bench, and Arteta has previously indicated that this is exactly the attitude he wants to see from his players who are left out of the team.
"This is why we need that, we raise the level," the Spaniard said. "Each player raises the level of the player next to him, and this is how you evolve as a team.
"How you create a culture around the team, that when I get the opportunity I have to grab it. That a statement should be done on the pitch, and not talking or making comments, and when you have the opportunity, grab it.
"Then show how good you are, and then if you do that you continue playing."
Smith Rowe is likely to get his opportunity next weekend against Brentford in a left-wing position where he has generally been more effective for Arsenal this season.
With Martinelli back for the visit of Wolves the game after, the Hale Ender will be hoping he can take it.
