Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli saw an early end to his Sunday afternoon, leaving the crushing, season defining 3-0 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion due to an ankle injury. Martinelli suffered ligament damage in his ankle, and thus he’ll miss the Gunners last two matches of the season. Here is a link to more on that.
Both are meaningless now, as the north Londoners are out of the title race, but have top four locked up at the same time.
Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest FYIs
Kick Off: May 20, 2023, at 5:30 pm UK at the City Ground
Arsenal Starting XI Prediction: Go here
Google Result Probability: Arsenal 61% Draw `21% Nottm. Forest 18%
PL Position, Form Guide: Arsenal 2nd, 81 pts LWWLD Nottm. Forest 16th, 34 pts DWLWL
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
In the words of Sam Smith, “the writing’s on the wall.” Gunners boss Mikel Arteta hinted at the title race being over, while midfielder Martin Odegaard made an outright concession.
Arsenal will finish in second place no matter what happens so this Saturday match against Nottingham Forest is basically dead rubber.
Team News
Martinelli joins William Saliba (back), Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee), Mohamed Elneny (knee), and Oleksandr Zinchenko (calf) in the shut down for the rest of the season brigade. In another bit of team news, but of an entirely different persuasion, Arsenal youngster Folarin Balogun, currently on loan with Reims, officially switched his international affiliation from England to the United States.
Here is a link to more on that.
The Brooklyn-born scoring sensation was also eligible to represent Nigeria, as that is the nation where his parents were born.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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