Mikel Arteta provides fitness updates on Bukayo Saka & Gabriel Martinelli

Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal wing duo Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli will not recover from their hamstring injuries until after the March international break.

While Saka has been out since Christmas, Martinelli suffered his setback on 5 February at St. James' Park. The Brazilian joined Gabriel Jesus and his wing partner on the injury list, with Kai Havertz later suffering a hamstring injury of his own which has ruled him out for the rest of the season.

The setbacks have left Arsenal short in attack after the club opted against making a single signing during the January transfer window. They've suffered mightily in recent outings, failing to score in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since May 2023 after they were held to a stalemate by Nottingham Forest on Wednesday night.

Liverpool are 13 points clear and well on their way to title glory, but Arsenal do have the Champions League to play for. Arteta will hope his two wingers can play a role down the stretch in Europe.

Bukayo Saka & Gabriel Martinelli not back until after March international break

Arsenal must be careful with Saka's recovery and subsequent reintegration given that he suffered a hamstring tear back in December. March/April has long been slated as a potential recovery date for the England international, and Arteta has confirmed Saka won't be in action until after the international break.

The same goes for Martinelli, who was expected to be out for a little more than a month when he sustained his injury on 5 February.

Speaking on their recoveries after a frustrating midweek draw, Arteta hopes the pair will be back after next month's break (via afcstuff on X): “Let’s see how they evolve in the next few weeks to make the right steps & then after that, they’ve been out for a long, long time, so we’re going to have to integrate them as well gradually.

“They are evolving well but they’re still a bit far. We have a meeting tomorrow to discuss where they are, especially Gabi, who probably has a chance before Bukayo to come in, but how soon that is, we’ll have to see how it evolves in the next week," the Spaniard added.

The Gunners have two Premier League outings - at Manchester United and home to Chelsea - before the international break, but they do have their critical Champions League round of 16 clash with PSV Eindhoven to navigate. If they bypass the Dutch champions, one of the Madrid clubs await in the quarter-finals. Those two ties are scheduled for in and around the time we could expect Martinelli and Saka to be back in action.

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