Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided updates on the wellbeing of Aaron Ramsdale and Gabriel Martinelli, on the back of his side's meeting with Aston Villa.
Both shot-stopper Ramsdale and wide-man Martinelli, of course, were left with little choice but to sit out the action at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to the media on the back of the full-time whistle in the west Midlands, boss Mikel Arteta was therefore inevitably drawn on the latest on the wellbeing of two key members of his squad.
And the Spaniard first went on to reveal that no.1 Ramsdale's fitness problem was in fact suffered during the club's midweek defeat at the hands of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool:
Turning attentions towards Martinelli, meanwhile, the in-form Brazilian, despite his bout of illness, is evidently not feeling too poorly, with Mikel Arteta hopeful that his goalscoring wide-man will yet recover in time to link up with his country over the coming week:
Saka the difference
The respective absences of Ramsdale and Martinelli, of course, ultimately proved inconsequential when it came to the eventual result at Villa Park on Saturday.
This comes with a solitary goal, lashed home by Bukayo Saka on the half-hour mark of proceedings, having proven the difference in guiding Arsenal to another crucial three points at the expense of Steven Gerrard's hosts:
The Gunners, in turn, have climbed a full four points clear of 5th-placed Manchester United in the Premier League table, as the prospect of Champions League football making its return to the Emirates for the first time in five years continues to gain traction.
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