New injury return date set for Martinelli & Saka | OneFootball

Arsenal are set to be without injured wingers Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka until April, according to a report.

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John Cross reports for the Mirror that Mikel Arteta is hoping to have Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli back after the March international break, which would mean a return against Fulham on April 1st.

Cross claims both players could be involved in that game, stepping up training over the next month to be ready for the final stretch of the season.

But the journalist adds that Saka will miss Thomas Tuchel’s first games in charge with England, as he’s not expected to be fit until after that.

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The positive slant on the news is that Arsenal will be much closer to full strength after the international break, likely only missing Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Takehiro Tomiyasu. All of whom are unlikely to play at all for the remainder of this season anyway.

Arsenal also don’t have too many games to play before the international break, with only four Premier League fixtures over the next month and two Champions League matches.

The big negative is who those matches are against. The Gunners have to play third-place Nottingham Forest away from home, big-six sides Manchester United and Chelsea, and whichever club they draw in the Champions League last-16.

A home game against West Ham is the only one the team should really expect to win comfortably, and even that will be much more difficult with four key forwards injured.

Photo via Havertz on Instagram

Arteta will simply have to adapt and keep winning matches, as the Gunners did against Leicester City at the weekend.

It wasn’t pretty, but five or six more results like that could keep the team in the fight for the Premier League and Champions League for when Saka and Martinelli return.