Mikel Arteta provides update on Gabriel Martinelli injury
- Arteta has revealed that Martinelli has suffered a muscle injury
- Martinelli was subbed off early in the 1-0 win over Everton
- The wide forward will have scans to assess the severity of the injury
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Gabriel Martinelli suffered a muscle injury in the Gunners' Premier League win over Everton on Sunday.
Martinelli was incredibly bright in the opening minutes of the meeting with the Toffees at Goodison Park, even getting in behind the home defence to score in the 20th minute - a goal that would be disallowed for an Eddie Nketiah offside after a VAR check.
A few minutes after scoring that offside goal, Martinelli crumpled to the ground with an injury and was taken off - he was replaced from the bench by eventual match-winner Leandro Trossard.
Speaking after the win to the press, Arteta was asked about Martinelli's conditions and revealed that test will need to be carried out in order to determine the severity of the injury.
"He felt it after the action for the run on the goal, and normally he's not one of the players to have muscular issues, but he had to come off, so let's see," the boss explained.
Arteta also revealed his relief at Arsenal winning their first game at Goodison Park in over six years, insisted that his side "fully deserved to win the game".
He explained: "Six years without a win here is a long time, so we had to learn some lessons, we had to be better. I am delighted for the win but especially the way we won it, the way we played, how dominant we were, the presence that we showed on the pitch. We fully deserved to win the game.
"I think we had many other openings to put the ball in the last line and to put somebody in the box and finalise. Credit to Everton, they defended the box extremely well, and they had some big, big blocks when we opened them up. It’s great to have other ways to score goals, it gives you different resources and be more unpredictable."
The win sees the Gunners move into the top four, having taken 13 points from a possible 15 in the first five weeks of the Premier League season.
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