Gabriel Martinelli is expected to miss at least a month of action following the hamstring injury picked up against Newcastle.

The Brazilian winger went down clutching the back of his leg early into the Carabao Cup clash at St James Park, with Arteta initially fearing the worst.

“Yes, he felt something,” the Spaniard said on Martinelli in a press conference. “I think it was his hamstring and he wasn’t comfortable to continue so we’ll have to do an MRI scan tomorrow to see the extent of the injury.”

Despite that, Martinelli still travelled with the Arsenal squad to Dubai, and while Ben White featured in their first training session, the former was unsurprisingly nowhere to be seen. And that will likely remain the case until March, with The Athletic revealing he faces more than a month out of action due to injury.

As such, Martinelli could be absent from Premier League games against Leicester City, West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, and even Manchester United. The 23-year-old may also be unavailable for the first leg of Arsenal’s last-16 tie in the Champions League.

Arteta had already lost two attackers to long-term injuries in recent weeks, with Bukayo Saka requiring surgery to fix a hamstring issue while Gabriel Jesus also went under the knife after damaging his anterior cruciate ligament in the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.

With both problems emerging as the January window took place, Arsenal were actively looking for attacking additions. Despite their best efforts, Arteta was unable to strengthen his squad with his verdict after the window had closed, perhaps a telling one.

“We had a clear intention which is always there is a window open to explore the opportunities to improve our squad with players that can impact it,” he said in a press conference.

“We had a clear intention which is always there is a window open to explore the opportunities to improve our squad with players that can impact it,” he said in a press conference.

“We haven’t achieved it so we are disappointed in that sense but as well we are very aware that we only want to bring certain kind of players and we have to be very disciplined with that as well and I think that we will.”

With Martinelli now also ruled out, Arsenal have just Kai Havertz, Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling as his frontline options for the foreseeable.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Leicester City(4-3-3)

GK: David Raya—Raya made two brilliant saves against Man City to keep the Gunners in the tie.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori—Myles Lewis-Skelly was impeccable last time out, but Calafiori gets the nod.

CB: Gabriel—Gabriel continues to build his case for Arsenal’s best player this season.

CB: William Saliba—Erling Haaland got the better of Saliba on the weekend, but the Frenchman remains one of the best defenders in the world.

RB: Jurrien Timber—Timber starts to complete the back four.

CM: Thomas Partey—Partey had his performance of the season scoring Arsenal’s go-ahead goal in the second half.

CM: Declan Rice—Rice assisted twice against Man City banking another strong performance. He’ll have to dominate once again if Arsenal are going to get off on the right foot.

CM: Martin Ødegaard—The Norwegian midfielder scored the opener and put in a captain’s performance against Man City.

LW: Gabriel Martinelli—Martinelli starts the game off the left looking to stretch Man City’s defense.

RW: Ethan Nwaneri—Nwaneri, alongside Lewis-Skelly, continues to make the most of the opportunities given him. He scored off the bench in the dying minutes against the reigning champions.

ST: Kai Havertz—Havertz assisted the opening goal and scored Arsenal’s fourth against Man City, though he should’ve had two goals on the night. He’s got a ton of pressure on his shoulders to perform given Arteta’s belief in him and the lack of a January transfer.