Arsenal

Arsenal: Charles Watts discusses potential issue ahead of next season

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Image for Arsenal: Charles Watts discusses potential issue ahead of next season

Journalist Charles Watts has discussed a potential issue at Arsenal ahead of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign.

Watts appeared on the latest video of his YouTube channel and he talked about multiple issues involving Arsenal. One topic of discussion was a potential issue involving Gabriel Martinelli and defender Gabriel for the upcoming league campaign.

He stated that given both players have been included in the provisional squad of Brazil’s Olympics campaign, they may not be available for the start of the 2021/22 season.

Will the absences of Martinelli and Gabriel prove to be a problem?

Yes

Yes

No

No

While Arsenal aren’t required to release their players for international tournaments all the time, Gabriel has made it clear that he’s hopeful that he could play in the Tokyo Olympics and Arsenal reach an agreement with the CBF regarding the same.

Watts talked about the situations of the two Brazilian players, saying that the duo is probably going to miss the start of the next season.

He said: “Brazil are going to be in the Olympics over in Tokyo. Gabriel and Gabriel Martinelli are included in that provisional squad. I’m not sure that squad’s been made official yet, but they’ve been included in the provisional squad and that’s a big, big deal, the Olympics – for the Brazilians, it always is. I think it’s two weeks – just before the season starts.

“The final’s on August 4th and the Premier League starts again on August 12th. So it’s not directly before, but you think, if you’ve been there in sort of a camp with the Brazilian squad for a couple of weeks, you’ve got to link up before that. You’d imagine if those two players play in the Olympics, they’re probably going to miss the start of the season for Arsenal.

“Because they might be a little bit way behind the work that Arsenal have done in London Colney during pre-season, it might be a little bit of an issue.”

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TIF Thoughts on Gabriel and Martinelli…

23-year-old Gabriel had been a regular for the Gunners towards the end of the Premier League campaign, as he had started five games in a row. 19-year-old Martinelli had also been featuring in the squad more often in the last few weeks of the season for Mikel Arteta’s men.

They’re clearly important squad options for the side and their lack of availability will take away Arsenal’s bench strength. Pablo Mari can step in at the back for Gabriel, but Martinelli happens to be the club’s only out-and-out option on the left wing. So perhaps, the 19-year-old’s absence might be felt more.

In other news: ‘The situation is still on the table’ – Reliable journalist drops big Arsenal transfer update

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European Football Writer. Contributed for FootballItalia, Manchester United, Manchester Evening News, Calciomercato, GFFN and more.