Arsenal striker Gabriel Martinelli is back. The Gunners prospect made his return from injury for the U21 side against AFC Wimbledon this evening.
Martinelli has not featured for the North London giants since March, after sustaining a knee injury during training.
Considering the promise he showed for them prior to the injury, you can understand why the Arsenal faithful were desperate to see him back in action.
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Well, no longer do they need to long for his return. He’s back.
Martinelli got 45 minutes under his belt in the EFL Trophy tonight against AFC Wimbledon.
We’re back underway for the second half – and we’ve made our first change of the evening…
? Taylor-Hart
?? @g_martinelli01Well played, Gabi ?
? 0-0 ? (46) | #EFLTrophy ? pic.twitter.com/9flmsBVMSE
— Arsenal Academy (@ArsenalAcademy) December 8, 2020
It will have been a pre-planned withdrawal, no doubt. Arsenal fans need not fret that he has aggravated the injury that kept him out of so much action.
You could forgive him for having rust to shed after such a prolonged period out, but Martinelli is looking sharp. Have a look at this clip, which is testament to that.
Martinelli wins back possession and then creates a chance pic.twitter.com/PDHoXLKFRw
— #OleIn (@MagicMartinpele) December 8, 2020
Pictures courtesy of iFollow
It appears to only be a matter of time before he’s back available for the first-team.