Mikel Arteta issued an update on the fitness of Gabriel Martinelli after Arsenal were dumped out of the Carabao Cup at the penultimate hurdle.
They were soundly beaten by Newcastle, who will face either Tottenham or Liverpool in the final after cruising to a four-goal aggregate victory over the Gunners.
During the first half, Martinelli went down clutching his leg and was promptly replaced by Ethan Nwaneri. He went straight down the tunnel and looked to be in some pain before coming off the pitch.
It came after Arsenal failed to make any January signings, with their inactivity in the market potentially leaving them short if Martinelli is ruled out for any length of time.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta confirmed the Brazilian winger would undergo further checks to determine the extent of the problem, saying: “He felt something in the first half. We will have to assess.”
Arsenal went into the match knowing they would need to overturn a two-goal deficit to stand any chance of reaching the final, but it quickly became apparent that it would not be their night.
Jacob Murphy fired Newcastle ahead inside the opening 20 minutes after Alexander Isak saw an early opener disallowed for offside. Anthony Gordon doubled the Magpies’ lead in the second half to eliminate any doubt over the result and send them to Wembley.
Reflecting on the match, Arteta said: “We had so many expectations to believe we could turn it around. The game started in the first action with the goal and it being denied. We had two moments, we didn’t capitalise and the game shifted.
“Physically, we were tired, we have played so many games. Emotionally as well, it was a very different game to believe right there in the end that we could do it.
“We need to swallow this one. It’s a tough one. We knew the difficulty of the task from the result in London. Now we have to look forward, first of all it’s going to be a painful one. When we’re in Dubai, we recharge.”
Isak was a real handful throughout the match, running Arsenal‘s defenders ragged with his smart movement in the final third. He continues to be linked with a future move to the Emirates Stadium, having stayed at Newcastle past the January deadline.
Arteta gave a snappy response when quizzed on Isak’s performance, saying: “I’m not here to evaluate the opposition players. He has two actions and you know what happened.”
