“Not spotted in training”… Two important Arsenal players now a ‘major doubt’ to play against Porto tomorrow
Although Arsenal expect FC Porto to arrive at the Emirates tomorrow in great shape, they may be missing a key player.
Mikel Arteta knows how important tomorrow’s return is for Arsenal and almost immediately after Saturday’s win against Brentford he urged fans to mobilise.
Arsenal have not reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League since 2010, and their nine eliminations in the round of 16 are a record for the competition.
Although Arteta has not coached the club during this period, he certainly does not want to contribute to a tenth relegation.
Arsenal need to find a combination of attacking impetus and defensive stability tomorrow, which perhaps explains why Jakub Kiwior should still start the game ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Arteta will have to rely on his forward line to score the necessary goals without compromising the back four that has looked so assured of late.
With all this said, it seems that Arsenal’s front line may not be quite up to the task tomorrow against Porto.
According to the Standard, Arsenal could still be without Gabriel Martinelli, who is labelled as a “major doubt”.
Gabriel Martinelli could miss Arsenal’s crucial game against FC Porto tomorrow
Martinelli, who has been “incredible” for Arsenal this season and last, injured his foot in the 6-0 win against Sheffield United recently.
After missing the Brentford game, it is now reported that Martinelli may miss this game as well.
According to these reports, Arsenal will have their final training session on Monday afternoon and a decision on the squad will be made shortly afterwards.
If Martinelli were to miss tomorrow’s game against Porto, it would of course seem that Leandro Trossard could be available.
Although Gabriel Jesus may play out on the edge, there seems no reason to break up the front line, which played well for a while against Brentford.
And truth be told, if it wasn’t for Aaron Ramsdale’s mistake, Arsenal’s front line would probably have started to break down Brentford as they chased the equaliser.
In any case, a Martinelli loss tomorrow would be a major blow.
Apart from this selection dilemma, one Arsenal player seems to have already secured his place in the game against Porto after another excellent performance on Saturday.
