Arsenal wonderkid Gabriel Martinelli is closing in on a return to action.
The talented 19-year-old has been sidelined since late-June when he suffered an injury during a training session and required an arthroscopic procedure to repair a lesion in the cartilage of the left knee
At the time Martinelli was hopeful of making his return to action before the end of 2020.
And he may be ahead of schedule as Arsenal have recently confirmed that he has been running outside, alongside doing a daily strengthening and recovery programme at their London Colney training ground.
It could be 2021 when Martinelli makes his first appearance of the season as Gunners manager Mikel Arteta is unlikely to take any risks by rushing the youngster back.
But when the teenager is fully fit, he could get a chance to play as a centre-forward.
Martinelli has operated mostly out wide since arriving in north London from Ituano in the summer of 2019, but Arteta believes his long-term future is down the middle.
"[Aubameyang and Martinelli] are centre forwards but with the squad balance that we have at the moment, to play on those positions on the left we don't have five players," Arteta told reporters after the 1-0 win over West Ham United last season.
"We are using one left-winger to play as a left-back [Saka] and he is not a left-back so we're just trying to adapt to the situation that we have today, trying to create an amount of goal threat that can be successful for the team.
"That's part of managing the players that we have."
However, that long-term plan might not be something Martinelli agrees with as he favours the left-hand side.
"I really like playing on the left end," he told Marca in February. "It is my favourite position. I give myself to the maximum for the team.
"I always give 100% for my team to end the game winning."
Martinelli's preference to play from the left could be fantastic news for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Arsenal.
Whilst the Gunners captain has thrived in this position since Arteta's appointment, the Spaniard has acknowledged that the Gabon international is a natural centre-forward.
Once Martinelli is fit and available for selection, he might be the one that finally unleashes Aubameyang in his favoured role.
