Riccardo Calafiori sends injury message to Mikel Arteta as Gabriel Martinelli shows Arsenal form

Martinelli warming up

There was something fitting about the fact that Mykhailo Mudryk was watching on as Arsenal played Shakhtar. Just a year and a half ago, it looked as though he would be on the pitch instead of in the stands – presumably as a replacement for Gabriel Martinelli.

In the long run, the Brazilian had borne out to be the winner in that battle long before Tuesday night. But if there was anyone doubting him, they surely aren’t anymore.

Martinelli has not exactly been at his best in the past year. By most measures he had a disappointing season last time out, and his start to this campaign had not quite set the world alight.

Just prior to the international break we saw signs that he was bubbling back up to top form. Back to back goals against Leicester and Southampton seemed to have re-ignited his confidence once again.

He did miss a big chance against Bournemouth, and perhaps last season that would have dented his confidence. Now he looks so firmly like he believes in his own abilities that he was able to bounce back.

READ MORE: Every word Mikel Arteta said on Calafiori injury, Martinelli display and Arsenal tiredness

READ MORE: Arsenal player ratings vs Shakhtar Donetsk as Gabriel Martinelli shines but two players struggle

Even with a taped up calf the Brazilian was the most energetic player on the pitch. He may not have got the goal, but he certainly brought about the winner. In a bland attacking display from Arsenal he brought just the flavour required to get the Gunners over the line.

“He looked really sharp, really fresh as well,” Arteta said of the Brazilian. “Fresher than anybody on the pitch because he could not start against Bournemouth and you could tell that was different to the rest. He had another gear, he had another level of threat and he state the game really well. He had a great performance for us tonight.”

Martinelli seems to be coming up to the boil just before Liverpool. The Brazilian has scored more goals against them than any other opponent in his career. Could he keep up that role when Arsenal need him most this Sunday?

Injuries mount up

If there was one position where Arsenal looked absolutely stacked heading into the season it was full back. Two months in and they couldn’t look more thread bare.

Kieran Tierney hasn’t been available all season, while Takehiro Tomiyasu’s latest set back in the very game in which he was making his comeback has ruled him out for a while. Oleksandr Zinchenko has missed a month with a calf problem and was barely trusted before that, while Jurrien Timber has not been seen since being withdrawn supposedly as a precaution against PSG three weeks ago.

If you had given Mikel Arteta the option to have two players come through Shakhtar Donetsk injury-free he probably would have chosen Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori. Just as his luck would have it, neither player managed to make it through the match.

On White there is at least some good news. It seems his substitution was more precautionary than anything. “Ben, it was my decision to take him out,” Arteta said after the game. “He had a yellow care and we’ve played enough with 10 men in recent periods. They had a lot of density on that side, a lot of players on that side, so I didn’t want to take any chances there.”

On Calafiori though, there is worse to report. The Italian looked to know what he had done immediately after tweaking his knee and despite coming back on, he was signalling to Arteta just 30 seconds later that his night was over. “With Riccy he had to come off because he felt something,” Arteta said. “I don’t know the extent of it so in that sense not great news.”

Throw in the fact that William Saliba is suspended after his red card against Bournemouth and Arsenal are looking worryingly thin in defence. There is now the very real prospect that Myles Lewis-Skelly is called upon to start against Mohamed Salah and Liverpool.

Jakub Kiwior remains an option, but you would assume that the Pole is first choice to replace Saliba in the middle now despite his own unconvincing display on the south coast. Arteta will be praying that Timber can make a miraculous recovery in time for Sunday, but if not he risks going into one of the biggest games of the season with a back four that is thread bare to say the least.

Jesus can’t find the net

Another game, another blank for Gabriel Jesus.

It’s not for a lack of trying. The Brazilian works himself into the ground every game and it was exactly the same against Shakhtar. It just looks right now that his barren run is playing on his mind each time he enters the pitch.

It’s not as if he didn’t have the chances. He was played in well by Kai Havertz just before half time but found the outstretched leg of Dmytro Riznyk rather than the back of the net.

There was another opportunity in the second half, but the reality is now that Jesus has not scored a competitive goal since January. Granted he’s been injured for much of that time, but Arteta’s decision to remove him felt like an admission that the Brazilian is not Arsenal’s most potent attacking option right now.

That’s not to suggest that the Spaniard’s opinion on him is final. He’s still backing Jesus to turn things around.

“Very important because he can play in different positions and roles,” the Spaniard said when asked to describe Jesus’ role in the squad now. “You see his attitude again was exceptional. He was very unlucky because he had two big chances that he could have converted. He was good in many other areas and we need everybody.”

The reality is though that Jesus looks a far cry from the player who changed Arsenal’s world when he arrived in north London just over two years ago. With Bukayo Saka out the Brazilian has a huge role to play though, and the hope will be that he can get back to the glowing form of those halcyon days straight after his transfer from Manchester City sooner rather than later.

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