Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has insisted he still has 100 per cent confidence in Gabriel Martinelli despite not getting a lot of playing time in recent times. Come and be rumored to be loaned out in the winter , Martinelli has started some games early in the season. But overall, he hasn’t played much and has been away from the Premier League since August 22.

The Spaniard was asked the question in a pre-match interview. He explained that he still believed in the 20-year-old, but the position he played was highly competitive and plagued by injuries.

“First of all because of the number of players we have in those positions,” Arteta

said. He started against Brentford, started against Chelsea as well, and he started in other games (two Carabao Cup games).”

“Unfortunately, last week he was injured. It’s a bit of a pain but we don’t know if he will be available to be involved on Monday,

but we trust Gaby a lot and we try to find the right place for him to grow within the team.

“The pain he experienced was very destructive. Sometimes we forget his age, what he’s been up to and where he is.”

“We try to help him keep his balance right. Because you know there might be some dissatisfaction, which in my opinion is not a rational thought and it takes time to review.”

Arteta also confirmed he was happy with Ma. Martinelli was good and wouldn’t mind letting him leave on loan in January, the

39-year-old said: “No, I’m very happy with him. We didn’t think anything like that.”