Arsenal have just one match remaining in their 2022/23 campaign.
Last time out, the north Londoners were defeated 1-0 by Nottingham Forest, with Taiwo Awoniyi's strike enough to clinch all three points for the home side at the City Ground. That result meant Manchester City clinched their fifth Premier League title in six years, a huge blow for the Gunners considering they had led the league for the majority of the season.
Mikel Arteta's side have struggled in recent weeks, with a number of first-team players sidelined due to injury. The likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel Martinelli and William Saliba have all spent considerable time on the treatment table, leaving Arteta short of options, particularly in defence.
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With that said, we've taken a closer look at all of the fitness concerns the Spaniard has ahead of Sunday's home fixture against Wolves.
Reiss Nelson
The 23-year-old was left out of the side to face Forest due to illness, football.london understands. His omission from the matchday squad left place for young trio Mauro Gomes Bandeira, Amario Cozier-Duberry and Reuell Walters.
He will be hoping to cap the season off with a goal at the Emirates Stadium next week when Arsenal welcome Wolves.
Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli had to be substituted from the 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion early on after a tackle from Moises Caicedo. Caicedo did express regret at the tackle that hurt young player of the year nominee Martinelli, writing on social media platform Twitter: "If I could turn back time I wouldn't have made that bad tackle."
The exact time scale of Martinelli's injury unknown, but Arteta admitted: "Gabi's is a pretty nasty injury, we need to assess in the next week how long he'll be out for."
Despite being ruled out for the season, club doctor Gary O’Driscoll allayed fears of a long time absence by saying: "Sore. Terrible foul, disgraceful foul. But yeah, he’s a bit sore but he should be okay."
The latest news on Martinelli's injury could see him return towards the end of June depending on the severity of his injury. The Brazilian was spotted still wearing his protective boot a week on from his injury.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Zinchenko was forced off during Arsenal's 2-0 win over Newcastle United. Kieran Tierney had previously occupied his position before Jakub Kiwior operated, somewhat underwhelmingly, at left-back in the East Midlands.
On Zinchenko, Arteta previously said: "With Alex, it’s a calf issue. He won’t be available to play in the next few games."
William Saliba
Saliba sustained a back issue in the Europa League last-16 defeat by Sporting CP in March, with his absence deemed to be a major factor behind Arsenal's mini-capitulation in recent weeks. The Frenchman was ruled out for the season.
When questioned about Saliba's return Arteta admitted: "[He's] not [made] a lot of progress. He’s feeling better every day but he’s not been able still to have any activity around the first team so we don’t expect him to be with us."
"It’s about the healing process. Pain-wise and the things he can do now off the pitch he's in a good place. But we have to build that capacity to have the right impact, the right load and to be in good condition to play for the team."
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Tomiyasu was another casualty of the Europa League defeat against Sporting, being substituted inside the first 10 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.
An official club statement then read: "Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Arteta even claimed that he could miss the start of the 2023/2024 season. "I don’t know, he’s an important player but I don’t know how to quantify.
"I don’t know how to quantify when Gabriel Jesus has been out for four months, Nketiah for three months, Emile Smith Rowe for four and a half months, Kieran Tierney out for a few weeks, Tomiyasu out for three-and-a-half months, maybe now six months. This is football."
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny started in the FA Cup win over Oxford United back in January. However, the Egyptian was absent for Arteta's squad for the 2-0 win at Tottenham the following week, with a knee issue picked up in training ahead of the clash.
A club statement then confirmed that the former Basel man will be out for an extended period of time, although no timescale was given on his expected return. Elneny has since penned a new deal at Arsenal despite his place out of the team.
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