Arsenal are hopeful of a double injury boost well before the end of the season, by having both Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli back in the fold for the run-in.
Saka is yet to play so far in 2025 because of a hamstring injury suffered in December that required surgery. Martinelli was then hit with a hamstring problem of his own during the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle United earlier this month.
It has left Arsenal without their preferred starting wingers at a crucial time.
But while a return isn’t exactly imminent, the Daily Mirror has reported that the March international break is being pinpointed by the Gunners as the opportunity to reintegrate the pair.
Arsenal play their last game prior to that break against Chelsea on 16 March. It could mean that Saka and Martinelli are then able to return when things resume against Fulham on 1 April.
At that stage of the season, Arsenal will still have nine Premier League games left to play, hoping to also be active in the Champions League quarter-finals. There will be a considerable amount of football to unfold.
With a patched up front-line, having lost Kai Havertz for the rest of the season, Arsenal looked considerably blunted in their most recent outing against Leicester City.
There was a rare start for loanee Raheem Sterling, over whom there are doubts if he can ever recapture his best form, with Leandro Trossard filling in as a ‘number nine’. An ineffective Sterling was taken off with 20 minutes of normal time remaining, pushing Trossard wide and seeing midfielder Mikel Merino used in desperation as a makeshift striker.
Remarkably, that gamble actually worked, with Merino scoring twice in the closing stages to claim a 2-0 win and just about keep the Arsenal pressure on leaders and title favourites Liverpool.
