Mikel Arteta admits Gabriel Martinelli’s ankle injury “doesn’t look too good” as the Brazilian was left in tears after he was unable to take to the field against Newcastle in the FA Cup.
Martinelli fell to the floor after chasing a loose ball during a passing drill around 30 minutes before kick-off and was replaced in the starting XI by Reiss Nelson.
The Brazilian has made five appearances since recovering from knee surgery and suffered bruised shin during the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester City, which has left further reason for concern over this latest incident.
“I am gutted. I was in my office before the game and one of the coaches came in and said that Gabi hurt himself, that he twisted his ankle,” Arteta said, following the Gunners 2-0 win.
“I went to the medical room and he was in tears. It didn't look good.
“He was in a lot of pain and we're going to have to see how he is. He was in pain so I imagine we're not going to have good news with him.”
Martinelli will now undergo a scan on Monday to assess the extent of the injury Arteta joked that the 19-year-old hopes to be fit for the Premier League game against Crystal Palace on Thursday.
“We really want to know what's going on,” Arteta added. “He's a character that says he wants to play the next game, that he doesn't care that he can handle pain, but I don't know.
“Hopefully there is nothing too serious but to start with it didn't look too good.”
Without Martinelli, Arsenal made initial hard work of a stubborn Newcastle side over a poor and goalless 90 minutes at Emirates Stadium with Joe Willock and Nicolas Pepe going closest.
The introduction of Emile Smith Rowe helped spark the hosts into life, however, with the 20-year-old and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang firing the decisive goals in the second period of extra time.
