‘Unbelievable’ Arsenal player now a ‘major doubt’ to play against Porto tomorrow

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Although Arsenal welcome FC Porto to the Emirates tomorrow in exceptional form, they may be missing one key player.

Mikel Arteta will know just how big of a game this second leg is for Arsenal tomorrow, hence why he issued a rallying call for fans almost immediately after beating Brentford on Saturday.

Arsenal haven’t qualified for a Champions League quarter-final since 2010, and their nine last-16 eliminations is a competition record.

And whilst Arteta wasn’t managing the club during that period, he certainly won’t want to contribute a tenth.

Arsenal need to find a mix of attacking impetus and defensive stability tomorrow, perhaps explaining why Jakub Kiwior should still start the game ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Arteta must trust his forward line to score the goals needed without compromising a back four that has looked so secure of late.

All that being said, it seems Arsenal’s front line may not be quite at its full strength against Porto tomorrow.

According to a report by The Standard, Arsenal could still be without Gabriel Martinelli who is labelled a ‘major doubt’.

Gabriel Martinelli could miss Arsenal’s crucial tie against FC Porto tomorrow

Martinelli, who has been ‘unbelievable’ for Arsenal this season and last, injured his foot in the recent 6-0 win over Sheffield United.

And having missed the Brentford game it’s now being reported that Martinelli may miss out here too.

This information says that Arsenal will hold their final training session on Monday afternoon with a decision on the playing squad to be made soon after that.

Of course, if Martinelli were to miss out against Porto tomorrow it would seem that Leandro Trossard would be in line for another start. 

Although Gabriel Jesus could play out wide, there seems little reason to disrupt a front line that played well for periods against Brentford.

And in truth, were it not for Aaron Ramsdale’s mistake, that Arsenal front line would have probably begun to pick Brentford apart as they chased an equaliser.

But either way, it would be a blow if Martinelli were missing tomorrow.

And aside from that selection dilemma, it seem as if one Arsenal player has already booked his starting spot against Porto after delivering another brilliant display on Saturday.