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Mikel Arteta says it was “very uncomfortable” for Gabriel Martinelli to walk following his injury against Brighton on Sunday.
The winger was forced off after just 20 minutes in the 3-0 loss following a challenge from Brighton’s Moises Caicedo.
The Seagulls star was very apologetic about the tackle, which resulted in Arteta replacing Martinelli with former Brighton player Leandro Trossard in the early moments of the match.
Arteta provides update on Martinelli
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The loss of Martinelli was one of several low points for Arteta and his men at the Emirates, with the hosts falling to a very disappointing defeat in front of their home fans.
The title race looks all but over following Manchester City’s 3-0 win at Everton, with Arsenal simply aiming to finish their season strongly in their final two games.
The Gunners travel to Nottingham Forest and host Wolves at the Emirates, but it remains to be seen whether or not star winger Martinelli will be fit enough to make an appearance in either.
“We don’t know, he’s in a boot at the moment,” said Arteta, as quoted by the official Arsenal website. “It was very uncomfortable for him to walk, he couldn’t carry on playing – so obviously we need to scan him and see the extent of that injury.”
Brighton crush Arsenal in North London
It’s been a superb campaign for Arsenal overall, but Arteta will be very disappointed at how the final few months have panned out.
His side dropped points in three successive draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton in April, but recovered very well to defeat both Chelsea at the beginning of May and Newcastle last weekend.
But the Seagulls sent Arteta and his players crashing back down to earth this weekend, with the visitors producing a stunning second half display to score three goals at the Emirates.
When assessing the loss against Brighton, Arteta said after the match: “A really different feeling to the one we all had after last Sunday, when we felt proud and that we did what it takes to win in certain moments.
“Today is completely the opposite, today we have to apologise to our people, especially for the performance that we had in the second half.”
Arteta discusses title race
The disappointing loss in front of their home fans means Arsenal are four points behind league leaders Manchester City, who now need just one victory from their final three matches to lift the Premier League trophy.
They have meetings with Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford to do just that, with the Manchester outfit looking very likely of clinching the title in the coming weeks.
When asked if he thinks the title race is now over, Arteta said: “What I have to accept first is what happened in that second half, digest it, individually I look at what we have to do very differently for the next match and after that until mathematically it’s over, the second position is secured, that’s not going to change.
“But we have to digest and that’s going to take a few days.”
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