'He was in tears' - Arteta provides an injury update on Martinelli

The 19-year-old sustained another worrying injury in the build-up to Arsenal’s FA Cup victory over Newcastle.

Gabriel Martinelli was ‘in tears’ after twisting his ankle, says Mikel Arteta, who conceded the forward’s injury ‘didn’t look good’ and that he cannot foresee any good news coming his way either.

Martinelli was set to start in the FA Cup third-round clash with Newcastle on Saturday. However, he fell awkwardly during warm-up and had to make way for Reiss Nelson instead.

The Brazilian, who had only recently returned from a long lay-off, was seen in the stands afterward as two extra-time goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed a 2-0 victory for Arsenal.

Video: Gabriel Martinelli’s injury in the warm-up. [@LinkUpArsenal] #afc pic.twitter.com/9lZlpASXEO

— afcstuff (@afcstuff) January 9, 2021

“I am gutted,” admitted Arteta during his post-match conference on Saturday night at the Emirates Stadium.

“I was in my office before the game and one of the coaches came in and told me that Gabi had hurt himself, that he’d twisted his ankle.

“I went to the medical room, and he was in tears. He was in a lot of pain and we’re going to have to see how he is. It didn’t look good. He was in pain, so I imagine that we’re not going to have good news with him.”

The Gunners boss revealed Martinelli will undergo a scan on Sunday, but he remained downbeat in his assessment of the injury.

“We really want to know what’s going on,” added Arteta.

“He’s a character, and he wants to play the next game. He doesn’t care and can handle pain, but I don’t know. Hopefully, there is nothing too serious but to start with, it didn’t look too good.”