Arsenal unexpected injury boost emerges hours before Man Utd match as Mikel Arteta squad spotted
Gabriel Martinelli appears to have travelled with the Arsenal squad for their match against Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta acknowledged last week that Martinelli was "evolving well" but clarified that the player is "still a bit far from coming back". The expectation was that a return would happen following the upcoming international break and around the same time Bukayo Saka is due back, albeit with Arteta acknowledging Martinelli "probably has a chance before Bukayo".
However, since those comments, Brazil named Martinelli in their provisional 52-man squad for World Cup qualifiers with Argentina and Colombia. Dorvial Junior has, though, not named the winger in his 23-man squad, which teammate Gabriel Magalhaes is in.
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Footage posted on Saturday night is said to show the Arsenal squad arriving at Manchester Piccadilly train station that same evening. The seemingly Manchester-based account celebstarclips published the 73-second-long video of players and staff in team tracksuits alighting a train and walking down the platform just after 7pm.
Martinelli seems to be among the group, with one viewer commenting underneath the post, "Is that Martinelli I see?" to which celebstarclips replied: "Yes". The account regularly shares footage of Manchester City and United players, plus any opposition teams playing either of them.
Their latest video also appears to show Benjamin White, David Raya, Ethan Nwaneri, Gabriel Magalhaes, Ismeal Kabia, Jakub Kiwior, Jorginho, Jurrien Timber, Leandro Trossard, Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Neto, Kieran Tierney, Raheem Sterling, Riccardo Calafiori, Thomas Partey and William Saliba present, among others.
However, despite the apparent return of Martinelli to the travelling squad, there is no suggestion the winger will play at Old Trafford. Arteta said late last month that they would gradually integrate him and Saka, who has missed 16 matches having not played since late December after requiring surgery on his torn hamstring.