Arsenal dealt massive injury blow as another key player ruled out for the rest of the season - Reports

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has reportedly suffered an injury that is set to rule him out for the rest of the season.

As per The Athletic's David Ornstein, Martinelli suffered damage to ligaments in his ankle during the Gunners' 3-0 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion on May 14. Ornstein provided the update via a Twitter post on Wednesday, May 17, writing:

"Gabriel Martinelli will miss final 2 Arsenal games through injury. Suffered ankle ligament damage in Sunday’s loss to Brighton. 21yo Brazil winger ruled out for a number of weeks but should return for pre-season ahead of new campaign."

Martinelli notably started his side's Premier League encounter against Brighton. However, he lasted just 20 minutes before being helped off the pitch. In that time, he had six touches, completed both his pass attempts and also recorded a successful dribble.

The winger, 21, was replaced by Leandro Trossard, who made the error for his former team's second goal in the second half.

As mentioned by Ornstein, Arsenal have only two more games left in the ongoing season, both in the Premier League. Mikel Arteta's men will take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on May 20 before concluding their campaign against Wolverhampton Wanderers at home on May 28.

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Gabriel Martinelli has been one of Arsenal's biggest positives this season

Arsenal's season looks set to end in disappointment. Having sat atop the Premier League standings for much of the campaign, their loss against Brighton & Hove Albion has put Manchester City in control of proceedings. City will secure the title, their fifth in six seasons, if they beat Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on May 21.

The Gunners seemingly put all their focus into winning the league, having suffered premature exits in both domestic cups and the UEFA Europa League. However, they have plenty of positives to take from this season and Gabriel Martinelli's form is one of them.

Martinelli has featured in 46 matches across competitions this term, the most he has managed since joining the north London giants. In those games, the Brazilian has scored 15 goals and laid out six assists.

All 15 of his goals and five of his assists this term have come in 36 Premier League matches. He has also averaged 1.6 key passes, 1.6 successful dribbles and 0.9 shots on target per game in the league.

Arsenal will hope Martinelli can continue his development next season as they look to fight for silverware once again.