According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, Arsenal attacker Gabriel Martinelli will not be in the squad to face Tottenham Hotspur today.
The Gunners host their bitter rivals Spurs at the Emirates Stadium, and will be looking for some kind of payback against Jose Mourinho’s men.
Arsenal lost 2-0 at Spurs back in December without really laying a glove on Tottenham, and must do better against them today.
However, there’s a potentially controversial decision in the squad as Ornstein claims Gabriel Martinelli won’t be involved at all this evening.
Ornstein claims that Martinelli is fit and doing well in training, but his absence today is just a ‘selection decision’ from Arteta.
The 19-year-old won’t be loaned out because Arsenal rate him highly, but there will be no appearance for him today as Arteta goes with other options.
Martinelli hasn’t played in the Premier League since the 30th of January, and his only appearance at all was in the 1-1 Europa League draw with Benfica last month, featuring for 13 minutes.
Despite Martinelli being an exciting talent, Arteta seemingly doesn’t think he’s ready to make an impact yet, and Arsenal fans don’t seem all that impressed with the decision.
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