Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be without two key players as his side bid to finish an exhilarating Premier League season on a high.
Last Sunday's 3-0 home defeat to Brighton all but ended Arsenal's fading hopes of winning the title, with rivals Man City now needing just one win from their final three matches to be crowned champions for the third successive season. But after picking up just 12 points from a possible 21, games at Nottingham Forest this Saturday, and home to Wolves the following Sunday, represent a chance to finish the campaign in a positive fashion.
Much of Arsenal's capitulation has been attributed to the injury to centre-back William Saliba, who has not played since picking up a back problem during Arsenal's Europa League clash with Sporting Lisbon. And the fragility of Arteta's squad was exposed further in the recent win at Newcastle when left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko limped off.
The horror show against Brighton was then compounded by an ankle injury to another key performer this season in Gabriel Martinelli. And addressing the media ahead of the trip to the City Ground, the manager confirmed that, like Saliba, the duo will not feature for the final fixtures.
“They are both out for the rest of the season," Arteta conceded. "Gabi is a pretty nasty injury, we need to assess in the next week how long he will be out for but it will be at least weeks, and with Alex [Zinchenko] it’s a calf issue and he won’t be available to play the next few weeks."
The news could yet disrupt Arteta's pre-season plans, amid speculation the club are targeting a number of top names in a bid to bolster their first team squad. The likes of Joao Cancelo, Declan Rice, and Moises Caicedo have all been heavily linked with moves to the Emirates.
Join the debate! Who do Arsenal need to bring in this summer? Let us know your thoughts below.
But Arteta has already enjoyed a boost to his future plans, with one of his current stars committing himself to the club. Keeper Aaron Ramsdale has put pen to paper on a new contract extension spanning three years, plus the option of a further year, after an impressive season.
A measure of Arsenal's progress was signified on Thursday by Gunners players and Arteta being nominated among the Premier League's end-of-season awards. Arteta is up for Manager of the Year, while Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard will compete with the likes of Erling Haaland for Player of the Year.
Meanwhile, in the Young Player of the Year category, Saka and Odegaard have been joined by the now injured Martinelli. The Brazilian star, 21, has scored 15 times after featuring in all 36 league games for the Gunners this season.
